New Beginning-Barry's Story
by JennTH
Summary: Kind of a prequel to New Beginning. Story also follows events in the books since Barry is a year below Harry. Starts with Barry's First Year to when he is grown. Barry is an OC so you may not like. Will have some Harry Potter characters in the background since Barry attends when they are in school.
1. First Year Part One

**Instead of making this authors note already longer than it needs to be, I put my reasoning behind why I chose Barry for this story in my profile if anyone is interested. I had a couple of people ask why I chose Barry over an established background character in the series. So if you're interested, it's the last part of my profile.**

 **Edit: To anyone new reading this or any old fans. I have been reading your reviews, and I will start editing each chapter starting this weekend. You're right, none of this has been edited. I didn't expect anyone to read it, so I didn't bother. I read over it, and I noticed so many errors. Thank you to the reviewers so far.**

A/N: I just realized as I was writing the summary that Barry rhymes with Harry. That is purely a coincidence and was decided when I created Ben's character. I picked it for a B name. All the Hoofer kids have B names, and they were created before I decided to set these stories in the Harry Potter universe. This is a prequel to my New Beginning series. This is Ben's older brother, Barry. Barry is in the year below Harry, so this covers the events in Harry's years through his perspective. Barry is an OC and so while it's his point of view about the events in the Harry Potter series, you may not like it. If you've read my story New Beginning, you'll see what Ben was like as a little boy. None of my stories have to be read in a particular order if you do find this series interesting. If not, it won't hurt my feelings either way. I'd also like to add that I've been writing this series for years, and it used to be on a blog but I moved it to this site. Enjoy.

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First Year

"I don't think you should go to Hogwarts this year," Benny informed me. "I think you can wait another year."

"No, I've been waiting to go forever," I told him.

Benny is my little brother. He's five, but he will be six soon enough. He was basically my little shadow, and I knew it bothered him more than my younger sisters, and maybe even my parents that I was going away to school soon. I for one couldn't wait to get going. I loved my family, but I couldn't wait to learn magic. It would also be nice to get away from all these little kids, and meet some kids my own age. I really didn't know too many people my age. I had some of my cousins, but even they were teenagers and they didn't want to hang out with an eleven year old.

I would be twelve years old in October, but I didn't even think then that they would take me seriously. A lot of the time everyone still saw me as a little kid, even my parents. It could be annoying because my parents expected me to look after my little sisters and brother, but they treated me like a kid. Maybe once I went away to school, they would start taking me a lot more seriously.

"But I don't want you to go," Benny told me. "Please stay home longer. You can go next year when Brenda goes to school."

"I don't want to be in the same year as Brenda," I answered him.

"I don't want her to be the oldest. She already told me she's going to be in charge. Barry, she is no fun anymore. She never wants to play anymore. She thinks now that she is ten that she is grown up. She said that me and Brianne are babies."

My younger sister Brenda had become insufferable lately. Benny wasn't wrong about that. I wasn't sure what had happened. The four of us used to be able to play well together. She'd always been bossy about games we played, but something had changed over the last few months. Now she was too old for childish games that even I still enjoyed. She seemed to also take on more of a stern approach. I wondered if it did have to do with me going to Hogwarts.

"So just ignore her," I said. "She never wants to play anymore anyway. She spends all her time in her room. I'm sure you can avoid her if you want to."

"I know but she gets more bossy when you are gone," Benny said. "With you gone she will be worse. She told me and Brianne that she will be the oldest so she can tell us what to do."

"Well she can't unless mum and dad tell her to," I reminded him. "I don't tell you what to do unless mum and dad say so. So just tell her you don't have to listen to her."

"How long until you leave?" Benny asked looking sad now.

"It's only June now little brother," I told him. "It won't be for a while yet. I promise that we will play together as much as we can this summer. We'll play Quidditch and we'll go swimming."

"You'll let me play Quidditch with you?" Benny asked.

"Yes, I will teach you how to fly and play Quidditch," I told him. "We'll play with Brianne too."

"I know how to fly Barry," Ben reminded me.

"You only know the basics," I told him. "I'll teach you more about flying. I promise, we will have a good summer before I leave."

I loved Ben and it was hard for me to believe that there had been a time when I hadn't wanted him at all. I couldn't really remember when Brenda had been born, I had been too young at that point but I'd been excited about Brianne. I never wanted a little brother who might play with my toys too. I knew girls liked playing with different toys. When mum told me that she was bringing home another sister for me, I was glad.

I didn't think mum planned on having anymore babies after Brianne. We had a four bedroom house, and all the bedrooms were used up. However, she became pregnant again. I'd hoped again that I wouldn't have a brother, but unfortunately they brought home a crying baby boy. Immediately they told me that once he was a little older, he would be sharing my room with me. I hated this new brother that came into my life. I was the oldest kid, and I would have to share with a little baby that I didn't want to share with. I resented him for the first few months of his life.

Brianne had been a quiet baby, but Benny cried non-stop all the time, and I couldn't take it. I remember telling my parents to send him back and to bring me another sister. They wouldn't get rid of him though, and then once he was close to a year old, they informed me that I'd be sharing my room with him.

I couldn't remember having too many temper tantrums as a kid, but the one I had put most magical temper tantrums to shame.

"I don't want to share with him," I said after dad calmed me down. "I'm the oldest. I shouldn't have to share my room. Put him in with Brianne."

"Barry, girls and boys can't share a room," dad told me.

"Well I don't want to share with a baby," I told him. "It's always been my room. Why does he have to share with me? Can't he just stay in your room. Babies don't care where they sleep."

"Eventually he is going to get older," Dad told me. "He's going to want a bedroom."

"Not mine," I said. "Why do I have to share a room but the girls don't? It's not fair that Brianne and Brenda get their own rooms but I don't and I am the oldest."

So finally dad relented and mum decided that it would be better for the girls to share a room instead.

"Sisters share everything, and the girls are close in age. They are closer than Barry and Ben will be. They'll have more in common," mum said to dad.

So Brianne ended up moving in with Brenda and Benny was given his own room. Brenda had been angry about this.

"I'm the oldest girl and I have to share," she said. "The youngest shouldn't get his own room."

My parents didn't give in to her complaints though. It didn't matter that she had a temper tantrum, they wouldn't give in. I think it's one of the reasons that Brenda is still hard on to Benny to this day. She's never forgiven him for giving her a room mate when she wanted to live by herself. She still complained about it to this day, and she even once told my parents to buy a bigger house.

It wasn't until Benny was a little older than a year that I really warmed up to him. I started to realize that a little brother actually had his benefits over a sister. I knew someday he'd want to play my games with me that my sisters wouldn't. So I started to teach him everything I knew, and eventually I forgot that I had resented him. It was something I never wanted him to know either. The little guy looked up to me so much. Out of my siblings, it would be him that I would miss the most, even when he was a little pest.

"You know I am going to be stuck with two girls," Benny complained to me one day. "You know what I was thinking? You can wait until I start Hogwarts to go."

"Ben, by the time you start Hogwarts I will be close to eighteen," I told him.

"That's okay," he said.

"No it's not okay," I said. "I have to go this year. You and Brianne can play together. You two will have fun and you have Sam too."

"Okay, but you have to teach me magic when you come home," Benny said.

"I can't until you have a wand, and I can't do magic until I'm seventeen," I said. "You know that."

"But you can still show me without doing the magic," Benny said. "I know you have to know the words and how to move the wand. Just show me that."

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. I could prepare him for when he did start school. I could teach him after each year of school what I learn, and I knew he'd practice on his own. Benny was very ambitious when it came to learning. Sometimes I worried that he'd end up in Slytherin. Dad told us that most Hoofers ended up in Ravenclaw, but there were some that were the exceptions. I few had ended up in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor over the years, but no one had ever ended up in Slytherin. I knew that not all Slytherin's were bad. My parents had some old school friends from that house, but I did worry about the influence of other kids. Sometimes my little brother could be very impressionable. I know that at six, that was normal but still.

Benny was already obsessed with school work. My mum hired a tutor to come and teach us what we needed to know for our age levels. All of us usually worked hard at the school work, but we also all knew we just needed to know the basics like reading, writing and maths. Our tutor usually went the extra mile and taught us what kids learned in primary school as well. Benny worked hard even after he left. Mum said he learned everything at his age level quicker than any of us had. Once Benny knew the alphabet, and he knew you could spell words with the letters, he practised on his own. He learned to spell basic words without the tutor. Even Brenda was impressed when he showed her that he could spell her name, and no one had taught him. He'd worked it out himself.

So I knew that when I taught him basic magic that he would practice at home. When he got to school with a real wand, he'd probably be quicker at learning than most kids.

"That's actually a good idea Benny," I told him. "When I come home from the holidays I'll show you my school work."

"Not the boring stuff," he told me. "Just the fun stuff."

I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to show Brianne and Brenda what I was learning as well at school, but Brenda shook her head.

"No, I don't want your help," she told me. "I can do it myself. I don't need your help. I bet I'll be smarter than you in school. Mr. Franklin said that I caught on to things quicker than you do."

"And Mr. Franklin said that Benny learned quicker than all three of us," I said with amusement. "I don't really care about that. I just thought I could show you so you're prepared. If you do know the incantations and the wand movements, you might beat me you know."

"No, I don't want you showing me anything I will learn on my own," Brenda said. "You'd better not bother me when I go to school either."

"Believe me Brenda, I'll do my best to avoid you," I told her. "I'll remind you of this conversation next year when it's your turn. I don't want you trying to follow me around."

"I don't follow anyone around," she said. "By the way, Benny told me that you told him he doesn't have to listen to me. He does so have to listen to me. I am going to be the oldest. I also am going to tell mum and dad that I get your room when you're gone."

"No," I said instantly. "You stay out of my room. It's off limits. Even though I'll be at Hogwarts, it's still my room. Anyway, Benny does not have to listen to you. He doesn't even have to listen to me unless mum and dad tell him to. You're not going to boss around Benny and Brianne just because I am not here. I don't do that to you."

"You are now!" Brenda said. "You are telling me I am not allowed to boss them around. I can so Barry! I'll be the oldest so I get to be in charge and I get your room."

"No you won't," I said.

Even though I was sure there was no chance of her getting my room, I went to my parents later on to make sure that this wouldn't happen. I still needed my room for the holidays. It wouldn't be right to kick me out of my room just because I didn't live at home full time anymore. I couldn't see them being that unfair, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"Mum, dad," I began when I entered the living-room. They were listening to the wireless and talking to each other in low voices. "I just wanted to make sure I still keep my room even when I go to Hogwarts."

Dad looked up at me. He didn't respond for a moment and then he burst into laughter.

"Of course you still get to keep your room. You're only going to Hogwarts son, you're not moving out yet," he said.

"That's not for a long time yet," mum added. "I still can't believe you're old enough to be starting."

"Why would you even ask that?" Dad asked.

I sat down into a chair and explained to them about my conversation with Brenda.

"Brenda and Brianne are always going to share a room, and she knows that," mum told me. "It's still your room."

"Well she's just angry that Benny gets a room to himself but she doesn't," I said.

"I know she is but we've explained to her why she won't get her own room," dad told me. "She won't be getting your bedroom, so don't worry about it. We aren't kicking you out of your room just because you're going away."

"Then can you do me a favour and make sure that she doesn't go in there," I asked. "I told Benny that if misses me he can sleep in there sometimes."

Benny used to come to sleep in my room at times when he was about three. He used to get night terrors, so he'd come into my bedroom. I have one extra bed in my room. He would sleep in there. Afterwards, I'd decided that he could sleep in there anytime if he got scared. Recently he'd asked if he could sleep in there at night if he missed me while I was gone. I trusted him. Unlike the girls, I knew he wouldn't go through my things. Brenda and Brianne would.

"We'll see what can we do," dad said. "Where are your siblings? We want to talk to you about something, but we don't want them to overhear. It's about Hogwarts."

"They were going to out to the pool," I answered. "I made sure to suggest it so I could talk to you about this. I didn't want Brenda to come in when I was talking to you. I told her that she had to watch them until I went out there," and then I rolled my eyes, I knew what was coming. "You don't have to lecture me. I know I have to be a good little boy at school."

"No that isn't what we were going to say," Dad said with a smile. "Although I do hope you'll behave. I don't think we have to worry about you. No, I heard a lot of rumors about what went on last year at school. As you may know, it was Harry Potters first year at school. Last year, they had a Philosophers Stone hidden there for protection. Someone tried to steal it from Gringotts, and Hogwarts is the next safest place to hide something. One of the teachers tried to steal it at the end of the year. Most people don't believe this, and they think he was acting on his own greed but I have my own influences at the Ministry. From what I heard, he was stealing it for You-Know-Who and-"

"But he's gone," I interrupted. "Harry Potter got rid of him when he was a baby."

"Most people believe he is just biding his time. We don't know if the rumors are true or not. It could just be a teachers greed, but a Philosopher's stone can be used to make the Elixer of Life. It's likely something You-Know-Who would need to come back," Mum answered. "So we want you to be careful. You were too young to know what the wizarding world was like when he was trying to take over. It was a scary world, and we hope he stays where ever he is. We just find it a bit of an coincidence that this happened when Harry Potter returned to the wizarding world."

"So we want you to be careful. If anything odd starts happening at school, and we're hoping it's just this one incident, we want you to let us know," dad said. "We've wanted for the four of you to grow up in a normal world, and we hope it remains normal but people always worry he'll come back."

"We'd also like to ask you not to bother the boy either," mum continued. "Don't badger him about last year or about anything else. If you happen to be sorted into Gryffindor, don't stare at him either. He didn't grow up in the wizarding world. Dumbledore wanted him to grow up a normal boy, and I believe he wants that to continue. Even after what happened last year."

"So you're saying Harry Potter stopped another evil wizard?" I asked impressed.

"With a couple of his friends," mum said.

Harry Potter was really the same age as me. If I hadn't been born in October and maybe in August instead, I'd have been in the same year as him the year before. Unfortunately, I hadn't made the September first cut off date. I'd had to wait a whole year to go. Harry would turn twelve July 31st so really, I wasn't that much younger than he was. I couldn't imagine being able to stop a fully grown wizard at my age with basic magic.

I was impressed. I was looking forward to being able to meet him now more than ever. Everyone in the wizarding world knew about him. Even Benny who wasn't even six years old knew about him. I was glad to be one of the ones who would go to school with him. I wouldn't gawk at him or anything, but I did hope there was a chance I could have a conversation with him.

The rest of the summer went fast for me. One moment I was reassuring Benny that it would be a while before I went away. The next moment I got my very first letter from Hogwarts, and then I was going to Diagon Alley for my school supplies. Thankfully my parents decided that the younger kids could stay at home with one of our Aunts and our cousin Sam. Benny was disappointed about this until he saw Sam. They were good friends. Brenda was furious and I couldn't help but gloat at her.

There had been a time when she and I had been close and Brianne and Benny had been close, but Brenda had changed from a fun little sister to a very annoying and bossy sister. I couldn't even handle being around for a few moments let alone for a long time. Brianne even came to me to ask if she could sleep in my room sometimes that summer because she couldn't handle Brenda.

"I don't want your room it's just sometimes she bugs me," Brianne told me. "You know what she did with all my hair ribbons? She threw them in the vanishing trash can. I left them on our bathroom sink because I was going to do my hair later. She threw them out on me Barry! She hates all my girl things even though she is a girl too. Mummy said I can decorate my side of the room how I want, so I did. She hid all my stuffed animals. Barry, she's getting worse and I bet she will be meaner when you leave."

"Maybe you could ask mum and dad if you can have that curtain put up now," I told her.

Years ago my parents had thought of putting a curtain divider in the girls room so they could have their privacy sometimes. Brianne had still been in a stage when things scared her and she hadn't wanted it. She'd wanted the comfort of her older sister there. She'd outgrown that years ago, and now she was even hating the fact that they shared a room.

"Maybe," she said. "I just wish she could go back to the normal girl she used to be."

"Well you only have to put up with her for a year Brianne, and then you'll have that room to yourself most of the time," I reminded her.

"I know. She's going to be mean to Benny and me though. She's already told us that she gets to boss us around because she'll be the oldest," Brianne said.

"And I told her and Benny that she can't," I said. "You know that I don't tell you what to do unless mum and dad tell me to. She can't do the same to you. Just ignore her. Mum said she'd put a silencing charm on the curtain, so all you have to do is close it. I can talk to her if you want."

Brianne shook her head. "No that's okay, but I am going to really miss you Barry. I don't want you to go."

"It won't be that long until Christmas," I said. "You'll still see me on holidays."

"But you'll be all grown up by then," Brianne said. "Everyone knows that once you go away to school, you grow up faster. You'll have new friends and you will forget all about us."

"Believe me, I can't forget about the three of you," I said. "You'll be fine Brianne. As long as you and Benny stick together, you'll be okay."

"I just wish you didn't have to go away. I wish you could just go to Hogwarts for the day and come home at night. Can't you tell mummy and daddy that you want to come home at night?" Brianne pleaded.

I sighed. I knew that they were going to try and make it harder for me than it had to be. I could tell even Brenda didn't want me to go even though she kept it to herself. As the days went by, my siblings clung to me more and more. Every morning I would wake up with Benny in my bed, and Brianne in the other bed.

Then the day I'd been finally waiting for finally came. I woke up the morning of September the first. It was finally time for me to go and learn magic. I was nervous for sure. It would be the first time I would go away for longer than a week. Sometimes we went to an aunts or uncles for a week or so. Before my grandparents had died, we'd gone there as well. They had died a few years ago. They'd left us all a lot of money too. I wasn't even sure how much money we were given, but I knew I had a trust fund waiting for me. Mum and dad told me I could wait until I was older before I learned the truth. The unfair part of it was that I wouldn't get it at seventeen but at twenty-five.

I stretched out and carefully got out of bed. I didn't want to wake up Benny quite yet. Brianne was of course in the other bed. I smiled at them and then headed to my dresser to grab some clothes and went into the bathroom. After a quick clean up, I changed and went back into my bedroom to see that Brianne was just stirring. I put a finger to my lips and pointed at Benny. She nodded and I walked over to take her hand.

"You can go to your room and get changed," I whispered. "I just want him to sleep a little longer."

We left the bedroom and I dropped her off by her room before I headed down the steps quickly. Mum, dad and Brenda were just eating breakfast when I entered the room. I could already tell that mum was going to be emotional that day. I could see it in her eyes, she was blinking back tears already. I just smiled and took my place at the table.

"Brianne will be down soon and I left Benny in bed," I said.

"I'll go get him soon, is he in you room?" Dad asked and I nodded. "We'll all eat and then I'll help him get ready."

"I don't see why Benny gets to sleep in," Brenda said.

"You could have too," mum told her. "You were the one who woke up at the crack of dawn."

"Well I thought we had to be at the train station early. I still don't see why Benny gets Barry's room and I don't," she said. "He already gets a room to himself and now he gets Barry's? Why doesn't he just move in with Barry?"

"Brenda, we've had this discussion all summer," dad said with irritation. "You, Brianne and Benny do not get Barry's room. You will stay in your room with your sister."

"So why does Benny get Barry's room?" Brenda pressed on.

"He doesn't get my room," I said. "I told him that he can sleep in there if he has to, but he keeps his room."

"I'm so sick of how be gets special treatment all the time," Brenda said. "He gets his own room and now he gets Barry's room too."

"He doesn't get my room!" I said angrily. "For a smart girl, you sure can be thick Brenda. I told him if he misses me, he can sleep in there. I am letting him because I know I can trust him. I can't trust you. I know you will snoop through my things. I don't want you in my room. You don't want my room because you'll miss me, you just want your own room."

Brenda folded her arms angrily and began to pout. Brianne joined us moments later holding onto Benny's hand. He was already dressed as well. It surprised me. Benny could dress himself just fine, he was almost six after all but he hated to get changed. He'd wear the same outfit every single day if he could. He was wearing a brand new Hogwarts outfit mum had bought him a few days ago. It had the Hogwarts crest on the shirt and a castle in the background. It was a black shirt and black shorts.

"He woke up when I was getting ready," she told us. "I helped him get ready too!"

"I wanted to wear my new Hogwarts outfit," Benny said excitedly. "Do you think people will think I am a Hogwarts student too?"

"You look like one," I said and Benny beamed.

"Oh you do not!" Brenda said still pouting. "Anyone can tell you're just a little runt."

Immediately Benny's face fell and I glared at her. What had gotten into my little sister? She had never been this way before. Why had she changed into this uptight and angry little girl? She was ten years old, but she seemed so much older and angrier. I'd heard mum and dad often talking about her. They thought she was a teenager before she needed to be. Maybe it was just her way of showing how upset she was that I was leaving.

"Brenda!" Mum said angrily. "Maybe I can call Helen and tell her to come pick you up before we leave. I guess you don't want to see your big brother before he goes away to school."

"I do so!" She said. "That's not fair! I won't see him until Christmas and now you won't let me see him go away!"

"Then stop with the attitude," dad said calmly. "Apologize to Benny and then eat. We don't have time for this. We need to get to the train station soon. If this new attitude doesn't stop soon, I might forget that you're too old for spankings."

"No!" Brenda moaned and tears began to stream down her cheeks, but she didn't say another word.

In my opinion, a good spanking might be what she needed. She was ruining what was supposed to be a good morning for me. Brianne was smiling down at her plate. She loved it when Brenda was punished. I for one was going to be glad to get away from all this immaturity. At Hogwarts, I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of bickering.

When we got to the train station, I felt even more nervous. It truly hit me that I was going away from my family until Christmas. I was going to be living with a bunch of strangers. What if I didn't make any friends? We were all sure I'd end of up in Ravenclaw but what if I didn't? I'd been worried that Benny might be a Slytherin, but what about me? What if I ended up there and even though my parents said they would love me anyway, what if they resented me?

Mum hugged me hard while dad put my trunk on the train. When he returned, he pulled me from mum to hug me too. After they hugged me, I hugged Brianne who was already openly sobbing. Benny was trying to hold it in, but the moment I pulled into my arms, he started to cry as well. Brenda looked ready to cry, but she didn't. She gave me a quick hug and then turned to look away. I was sure that she didn't want anyone to see why she was so emotional.

I was about to board the train, but mum grabbed me to hug me again. "Oh I am going to miss you so much Barry," she said. "You be good and you write me tomorrow morning."

"I will," I said.

"Barbara, let him go," dad told her.

Mum let me go and I hurried on the train. I found the compartment that dad told me he'd put my trunk on. I found a girl with black hair and blue eyes in there, and she had tears streaming down her cheeks. I was assuming she must be a first year. She was smaller than Brenda who was quite small for ten, but she also looked scared and of course sad. I figured I'd talk to her in a moment, but first I wanted to wave good-bye to my family. I opened the window to lean out it. I could see mum was crying now. Brianne and Benny were both waving and crying, while Brenda stood back with a neutral look on her face. Dad had his arm around mum.

"Have fun," he called to me.

Moments later, the train started to move. As soon as it did, Benny and Brianne began to chase after it. They were both crying and waving. I leaned out the window to wave to them as much as I could. I heard Brenda yelling something at them, but I couldn't hear what. Whatever it was must not have been good since dad began scolding her. Whatever he said to her put fear in her eyes, and I wondered if it was the same threat from the morning. The train turned a corner and I could no longer see them. I went back into the train and sat down.

"Hi, my name is Barry," I said to the tearful girl. "What's wrong? Are you a first year too?"

"Yes," she answered and she wiped at her face. "My mummy and daddy aren't happy that I'm a witch. They didn't want me to come, but I insisted. I had to come by myself and they told me not to even come home for Christmas or Easter."

I wasn't sure what to say that. I had worried about the same things happening to me, but I knew it would never happen. My parents loved me too much. What kind of parents did this girl have? How could they say such a thing to their daughter.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told her wondering if it was the right thing. "I'll be your friend. You're going to like it at Hogwarts."

"Thank you," she said as she wiped at the rest of her tears. "My name is Natasha but everyone calls me Tasha."

"Well Tasha," I said with a smile. "I will do what I can to help you, even if we end up in different houses."

"Houses?" She asked.

I nodded and proceeded to explain the four houses to her. I explained everything I knew about each house, and I even touched on the war a little bit and you-know-who. I was glad to see that she was no longer crying. I hated to see girls cry, especially my sisters. I always felt bad whenever one of them would cry after we got in a fight, even Brenda with her newest attitude.

"What house do you think you will be in then?" She asked me.

"Well Hoofers usually end of in Ravenclaw," I told her. "So more than likely I will end up there but Gryffindor wouldn't be too bad either. I think Hufflepuff would be a nice house too. I just don't want to end up in Slytherin."

"It doesn't sound too bad," Tasha said. "I mean not every person that goes there can be bad."

"No there have been some good Slytherins too," I told her. "It's really up to the person how they turn out, but sometimes people can be very impressionable. Sometimes people can be good but dad told me some people are scared that they're sorted there, so they pretend to be bad and eventually they do become bad. Sometimes I worry about that happening to Benny."

"Who is Benny?" Tasha asked.

"My little brother. He will be six at the end of the month. He's very ambitious and hard working, and he's impressionable. Anything I do, he has to do too. I love him and all, but I worry that he'll want to fit in at school. He does have some Slytherin traits."

"But he's a little boy," Tasha said. "I did some baby-sitting this summer and plus I helped with a lot of the little kids at primary school. Little kids are very impressionable, especially when they look up to someone. I imagine Benny looks up to you a lot, so that's why he does everything you do. He wants to be just like you."

"Maybe you're right," I said.

"Would you still be my friend if I end up in Slytherin?" Tasha asked now looking worried and I felt bad. I was making it seem as if I were very judgmental.

"Of course I will be, but Tasha I doubt you will be. They very rarely accept muggleborns. I know there have been times when muggleborns end up there, but Salazar Slytherin only accepted purebloods. I'm going to be your friend no matter what. I promise," I told her.

She smiled. "Thank you Barry, you seem very nice. Tell me more about your family! I don't have much to tell. I'm an only child and well-" and she paused as tears came to her eyes again.

Instantly I began telling her more about my siblings. I wanted to take that look from her face. At that moment, I knew I would do whatever I could to make this small girl in front of me happy. I barely knew her, but I knew at that moment I would always be her friend and I would always be there for her. I never really thought too much about if girls were pretty or not, but I thought she was cute. When she smiled, she was even cuter.

I sighed happily. I believed I'd found my first friend.


	2. First Year Part Two

Tasha stuck by my side when we left the train as well. When we met the man who looked half giant named Hagrid (I knew of him from my parents, but I'd never met him) she grabbed my hand. For some reason this gave me butterflies and I imagined it was because it was a girl who wasn't related who was doing it. I squeezed her hand in reassurance and we followed him.

I'd seen pictures of Hogwarts from photos my parents had shown me, but to see it across the lake was breath-taking.

"Oh I'm going to live here?" Tasha asked in a whisper.

When we boarded the little boats, we were joined by two other boys. No one spoke as we crossed the lakes to the boats. One boy in another boat was actually taking pictures, and I couldn't blame him. I wished that I'd thought to bring a camera. Perhaps later I could ask the boy for a picture. It was possible to duplicate them. He'd taken a picture from across the lake, and I thought it would be a good teaser for my future kids.

We were met at the doors by a woman Hagrid called Professor McGonagall. She led us into the castle. Tasha was no longer holding my hand, but she stuck close to my side. We were led past a good where many voices came from and I wondered if that was the Great Hall. We were taken into a small room where Professor McGonagall told us about the four houses. She left us in there alone. As soon as she left, conversation broke among the first years.

"How are we sorted? Do you think it will hurt?" A boy asked, and I thought it might have been the one taking the photos. It was hard to tell because it was dark in the room.

"They wouldn't do something that would hurt us," someone told him.

"It's just by a hat," I said. "Dad told me that it sings a song about the four houses and then it sorts us."

"It can't be by a hat, that's just stupid," someone said and I shrugged. I wasn't going to argue with the bloke. He'd find out once we were in the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall returned moments later to led us out. I didn't get nervous too often. I was usually good with crowds, but the moment we entered the Great Hall my legs began to shake. There were four house tables full of students and they were all staring at us. Behind us was another table full of the teachers. Tasha latched onto my hand again. I didn't want to admit it, but holding her hand reassured me as well as her.

We stopped in front of a stool with a hat on it. I couldn't help but smirk when I saw it. Whoever the boy was that said it was stupid would be eating his words now. After a few minutes, the hat began to sing a quick song about the four houses and Hogwarts. Afterwards we were each called up one by one. I hated having my name in the H's. I just wanted to sit down. My legs were still shaking. The boy who was taking pictures was sorted into Gryffindor. His name was Colin Creevey.

Tasha's last name was Fadden, so soon she was called up. She gave my hand one last squeeze before she hurried up to the stool. She was so small that she had to jump up on the stool, and I could hear a lot of people saying "aww" around the Great Hall. The hat was on her head for about half a minute before it yelled out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

I felt excited as she took off the hat and hurried to the clapping table. I was glad that we were going to share a house. I was sure I'd meet other friends in my house, but she was my very first friend and I knew I could keep my promise to her. Soon McGonagall got down to Harper Brandon who was sorted into Slytherin and then finally:

"Hoofer Barry!"

I hurried forward and quickly hopped on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head. A voice whispered in my ear:

"Ah a bright mind here. You seem very loyal and hard-working as well. You're a courageous young man and you put others before yourself. So where to put you? I see you can fit in many of the houses but I think the house you'd belong in the most is: RAVENCLAW!"

Happily I took off the hat and handed it to McGonagall. I ran to the Ravenclaw table and took a seat next to Tasha who smiled at me excitedly.

"I'm glad we're in the same house Barry," she said to me.

"Me too," I told her.

The rest of the sorting went by quickly by that point. Once everyone was sorted, Professor Dumbledore stood up to welcome us all to the school, and to introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Gilderoy. The name sounded very familiar and from the sounds of it, he was famous given the talk from the older students. I couldn't remember where I'd heard the name from, but I was sure I had seen the name somewhere.

"Oooh he wrote so many of our books this year!" Tasha said excitedly. "And he's so handsome too."

I frowned when she said that, but now I remembered where it was that I had seen his name. Most of our school books had been written by him, but I hadn't really given it much thought. Most of the girls were staring up at him now with awe except one girl. She didn't seem to care, but something about her almost seemed dotty. I couldn't explain what it was, but she gave off that aura. She seemed disinterested in the fact that we had a famous teacher that year, or the fact that most of the girls from first year to seventh year seemed to already be in love with him.

The bloke sitting across from me was shaking his head.

"He was in Diagon Alley and signing books, and then he took a picture with Harry Potter," he said when he caught me looking at him. "He seems full of himself."

"Harry Potter or Gilderoy Lockhart?" Another boy asked.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," the first boy replied. "You could tell Harry wanted nothing to do with any of it. My dad said he hasn't done half the things he says he's done in those books."

"I don't know much about him," I said. "I didn't even realize that he wrote most of our books until now. I couldn't remember why the name sounded familiar."

"So he's really famous?" Tasha asked. "What did he do?"

I didn't know much about him, but a few others did. It turned out that he had fought a lot of the dark arts and he also wrote books about it. I knew about a lot of famous witches and wizards, but I couldn't place him at all. I glanced up at the teachers table to see that there seemed to be a commotion. Some of the teachers were leaving and they didn't look happy. I wondered what was going on.

I was glad when the conversation changed from Lockhart to people's families. Most people at my table seemed eager to talk. Tasha was talking happily to some of the girls, and I worried that I'd lose her as a friend. What if she preferred hanging out with other girls instead of me? The boy across from me who seemed to already dislike Lockhart was named Nick Lawrence. I found myself in conversation with him, and I liked him right away. He seemed to be a really nice boy, and I could see myself being friends with him.

At the end of the feast, we were led to our common room by our prefects. As we left, rumours were going around about Harry Potter and a friend of his named Ron Weasley. Apparently they had stolen a flying car and flew into the whomping willow. I wondered how much of that was really true. I knew enough about cars that I knew they didn't fly. My parents had only bought one just recently for us. Usually we just all flooed places, but with me going to school and the others getting older, they decided it was best. It just drove like normal cars.

"Do you think it's true?" Nick asked me as we climbed up some spiral staircases.

"I don't know," I said. "Cars don't fly. I mean, where would they get a flying car from anyway? It's not like they can just get one from a parking lot."

"But Harry did stay with the Weasley's this summer," Nick told me. "He was with them in Diagon Alley that day. So maybe it's their car. Maybe Mr. Weasley charmed it to fly."

"You can do that?" Tasha asked.

"Well you're not supposed to," Nick said with amusement. "Some witches and wizards charm muggle things to make them magical."

We were stopped at a door where the prefect used a knocker to knock. I found out that we didn't have a password for our common room. We were asked a question and we had to get it right to get in. I couldn't see how this would be a good idea. Thankfully the prefect seemed to know the answer and we were let in.

The Ravenclaw tower was an airy room. I liked it instantly. It was a large circular room with midnight blue carpeting and arched windows hung with blue and bronze silks, and a domed ceiling painted with stars. I couldn't think of a better place to live. It had many couches and chairs around tables and even a small library. I couldn't wait to write home and tell my family about it.

"This is amazing," I said to Nick and Tasha.

"It is," Nick agreed.

Tasha was looking around the great circular room with a smile on her face.

"It truly is," she said as she turned to look at us.

A girl prefect called for the first year girls to follow her. Tasha hesitated as the other first year girls began walking over to the girl.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked me just as the boy who had led there called out for us to come.

"Yes, I'll wait for you out here," I assured her.

"Mind you don't take too long," Nick told her. "I know how girls can be."

She gave him a shy smile. "I won't," she said.

There was only one door that led to the dorms. The boys were told to line up behind the girls. The girl prefect opened the door, and led the girls inside, and then we followed. There were two separate winding staircases. The boys were to the left, and the girls were to the right.

"Your dormitories should be on the second floor," the boy told us. "That is where last years seventh years slept. Have a good night, and I will wait in the common room for anyone who needs help back to the Great Hall. Right now, I need to get everyone else to bed. Good night."

"So you and Tasha," Nick began as we led the way up the steps. "Already have a girlfriend before you get here? Did you two know each other before Hogwarts?"

"We met on the train," I explained.

Sure enough, on the second floor, there was a door that was labeled "First Years." I opened the door and walked into a circular room. It had six beds spaced around the room. I found my trunk in front of a bed right across from, so I walked over to it. Nick followed as his bed was right beside mine.

In a low voice, while I pulled out my pajamas, I explained Tasha's situation to him.

"I want to be her friend, even if she meets other girls," I told him. "I just can't imagine how a family couldn't want their kid."

"My dad says that some people shouldn't be parents," Nick said. "Guess hers are one those he is talking about. Well, I'll talk to you in the morning... unless you only wanna talk to Tasha."

"I'll talk to anyone who wants to talk to me," I told him.

It was an instant friendship between, Nick, Tasha and me. Mum and dad had told me that making friends at Hogwarts was easy, but I hadn't expected it to be this easy.

Nick and I met Tasha in the dorms who was waiting for us in the common room in one of the armchairs. She smiled as soon as she spotted us and rushed over.

"Guess it was me waiting on you," she said to Nick with a smile. "I've been waiting almost an hour."

"Why?" Nick asked with confusion.

"I just can't wait for classes to start. It is going to be so exciting," she said. "I can't wait to finally do magic. Plus, I heard last night that some boy named Harry Potter flew a car into a tree. Do you think it's true?"

"We heard some of the blokes in our dorm talking about it too," I told her. "We should go down. Wonder where that prefect is. He said that he would wait for us. The others are gone."

"Already gone, but don't worry. I have a good memory," Tasha said quickly. "I can get us there. I am good at things like mazes and everything. There is one of those bush mazes not far from my house. I used to go in it all the time. I figure if the corridors are complicated; I can get us through."

"You seem quite confident in your abilities at least," I said with a grin.

She smiled back. "I don't mean to brag."

"If you can get us to the Great Hall, you can brag all you want," Nick told her. "I am starving."

Tasha was right. She had a good sense of direction. I had no idea where we were going. She took many turns after we descended the spiraling staircase from the Common Room. Nick and I glanced at each other questioningly as she took a fifth turn. I didn't remember taking so many turns the night before. She paused at a tapestry, before pushing it aside. Behind it, there was a doorway. How did she know? We hadn't gone through it the night before.

We went through a short, dark, and narrow corridor. At the end of it, there was staircase we could walk down. On the other side, we entered into one of the main corridors. Not too far from us, people were descending the stairs that would lead us to the Entrance Hall. I remembered that much.

"How did you know?" Nick asked her with awe. "You found a short cut! That was a different way from what we took last night."

"I told you, I have a good sense of direction. Last night that prefect told us that doorways were hidden behind tapestries. I figured I'd try my luck with it. I knew it could take us close to here, but just up a couple of floors. I hadn't counted on that staircase," she explained.

"I'm glad someone listened because I didn't," I said. "I need you in my life. I am glad I sat with you on the train."

"I'm glad I can be of some use," she said.

"It's the only reason I am talking to you," Nick joked.

"Good to know," she said good-naturedly.

We entered the Great Hall and went straight to the Ravenclaw table. We joined the rest of the first years who were sitting together and talking about the first class. Everyone was hoping our first class was one where we would do magic.

Hogwarts turned out to be what I expected for the most part. The only class I found to be a great disappointment was Defense Against the Dark Arts. I wasn't the only one though. Professor Lockhart, though he was famous for saving people from the Dark Arts didn't live up to our expectations. He didn't teach us anything useful. All he did was read straight from his books.

Our first class, we had a test but it wasn't even about the Dark Arts. It was about him. The only people who actually got his test was right were girls who were in love with him.

Tasha, who was very clever to my disappointment was one of the witches who were in awe of him. I thought she was smarter than that. In class, she would hang onto every word.

"I think he is fraud personally," Nick said one Saturday afternoon in the common room, a few weeks into the school year. "Did you hear that he sent pixie's loose in the second year class, and he made the students round them up."

"Well, of course," Tasha said as if this was obvious. "He wanted to give them hands on learning experience! Isn't that the whole point?"

"Not when he does it at the end of class," Nick said. "They wrecked the classroom, and at the end of class, he escaped. He left Potter and his friends to round them up after everyone ran out. There is a difference between teaching them to do it, and running away when he couldn't stop them."

"How do you know about that?" I asked as I worked on trying to transfigure a muggle pencil into a quill.

"Seamus Finnegan told me," he answered. "He's a second year Gryffindor. His mum knows my mum from school. Sometimes we hung out when we were younger. Anyway, he told me all about what happened in class. He hasn't done any real teaching since. All he does in all seven years is just read from his books. What was Dumbledore thinking when he hired him?"

"Well, he does know his stuff. Perhaps he is just nervous about teaching it to us," Tasha answered. "He did all that stuff in his books after all. He was the best man for the job. What happened to the last teacher anyway?"

"Died," I said and I quickly explained what had happened the year before.

"I'd like to meet Harry Potter," Tasha said. "He must be quite powerful. After everything I've read about him."

"I'd hate to be him to be honest," Nick replied. "Being famous for having his parents killed and all. He doesn't even know how he defeated You-Know-Who. It's amazing that it happened when he was a baby, but I'd hate to be reminded of that all the time. Mum and dad told me I should leave him alone if we meet."

"My parents said the same and I agree," I said. "But from what I've heard he is just average anyway. Poor bloke probably feels he has a lot to up to, and trouble seems to follow him. After everything that happened last year?"

"Well, I'd still like to meet him sometime. If he is just average that makes it even more extraordinary don't you think?" Tasha asked.

"Don't get all fan girl around him," Nick warned her. "Is that how you choose blokes? Based on how famous they are? First Lockhart and now Potter?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Tasha said blushing.

Nick and I smirked at each other. At that moment, there was a tapping at the window. I glanced up to see who the owl was. Sometimes if they didn't come at breakfast in the Great Hall, they would find you wherever else you were in the castle or in the grounds. My parents never seemed to send our owl in the mornings, so I suspected it might be them. As I looked at the owl, I realized I was right. I recognized our barn owl. I got up quickly as Nick began teasing Tasha about Lockhart and Harry Potter.

I wasn't tall enough to reach the window, so I had to push a chair over to it let it in. I climbed on the chair and opened the window. I patted Hooty before he flew in. He flew straight over to the table we were working at, so I jumped off the chair and hurried after him. He landed right on top of my homework. He had a thick letter envelope with him this time. I couldn't imagine mum and dad had written that long of a letter. They wrote every few days since I'd first written home to them. So I was assuming there were letters from my brother and sisters too.

After Hooty flew off, I opened the envelope and sure enough, I pulled out four pieces of parchment.

"Four?" Nick asked. "How much can your parents possibly say? You write almost everyday."

"They're probably from my siblings," I said. "And you write more than I do."

Tasha looked sad, but we didn't have to ask why. She had written home once but her parents had asked that she not do it again. I always felt awful when I got letters or treats from home, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

The letters from Brianne and Ben were full of complaints about Brenda. She was still trying to boss them around. Ben was apparently going over to stay with Sam more often because of it. Brianne had mum and dad charm the curtain so that it couldn't open unless she wanted it too. Brenda couldn't go to her side at all. They'd done the same on my door too.

Brenda's letter was full of complaints about all that. She'd also written to tell me she'd changed her mind about me helping her. She wanted me to help her at Christmas. I wasn't sure if I was going to or not. I was thinking maybe I'd give her some of my notes and that was it. She'd said she wanted to learn on her own, and I think she'd made her decision. She sounded even bossy in her letter anyway and she didn't even ask me do it. She was just expecting me to.

Mum's and dad's letter was the usual about home life and about how much they missed me. They were also proud of me. I sent home my school scores every time I wrote home. It wasn't to brag but because they wanted me to. It was only a few weeks into the school year, and they seemed already ecstatic about it. Towards the end of the letter, mum surprised me. I'd told her all about Nick and Tasha. She knew about Tasha's home life, and she wanted me to invite Tasha to come to our place for the holidays. I glanced over at Tasha who was reading over her Transfiguration essay now. Would she be offended about this?

"Tasha?" I said and she looked up.

Her eyes were shining and I knew she was trying to hold back tears. She was trying to distract herself from my letters.

"Yes?" She asked when I didn't continue.

"Mum and dad want me to invite you for Christmas and Easter," I said.

She burst into tears. So I had offended her.

"I'm sorry," I said as I reached across the table to put a hand over hers. "It's just that I tell my parents everything. So I told them about you. I didn't mean to offend-"

"You didn't," she said quickly and she began wiping her tears away with her free hand. "It's not that. Your parents want me but mine don't. I try not to let it bother me, but it really does. I've always been a good daughter."

"Your parents are missing out on an amazing girl," Nick said. "We haven't been friends for very long and I can't imagine why they wouldn't want you. You're smart, funny and just fun to be around."

"Exactly," I said and I took my hand away. "It's them who is the problem. Not you. My parents love kids and they're always inviting people over. The invitation is there. I hope you do come. You don't want to spend the holidays here alone."

"I'll think about it," Tasha said. "I don't want to be a burden either."

"You won't be," Nick said quickly and I laughed.

"He's right. You won't be a burden at all. I'll tell mum and dad that you'll think about it though. I hope you do come though. It will be so much fun to have you over. You're welcome to visit to of course," I told Nick. "You have time to think about it. It's still only September after all. They'll need to know by December."

Tasha nodded.

"I guess I'll have to write home to mum and dad too again," she said nervously. "They weren't happy the firs time I did."

"I could ask mum and dad to do that for you," I said. "I'll tell mum that it's a good idea for them to ask your parents first. Then they can't put the blame on you."

"Except that they'll know I told that I'm not welcome," Tasha said.

"Trust me, mum and dad know how to be subtle. They'll just tell your parents that they're inviting Nick too," I said. "They won't make you look bad."

"You said your brother is only five?" Nick asked as he held up Ben's letter.

"Yes, he will be six at the end of the month," I said. "Why?"

"A five-year-old wrote this letter?" He pressed.

"You shouldn't be reading other peoples mail," Tasha scolded as she continued to wipe away her tears.

I just shrugged though. I had nothing to hide. I didn't care if they read my letters.

"It's all good," I told her before I turned to Nick. "Ben is quite clever. I say he could give Hermione Granger a run for her money when he starts school. Everyone says she is the cleverest witch her age. Ben has been reading and writing since he was three."

"It's not just that. It's not even sloppy," Nick said. "When I was five I could write somewhat, but it was illegible and it had so many spelling errors. This kid could be our age!"

"He's smart but you'd know he is five once you hang out with him, and I don't just mean by his size. He's not exactly mature beyond his years. That's Brenda. She could be older than us from the way she acts. Ben is still your typical child, even if he is smart."

"I can't wait to meet your brother and sisters," Tasha said. "They seem so interesting. Even Brenda. It'd be great to meet a young wizard anyway."

"Well, just come around Christmas," I told her. "I'll write back to mum and dad now. I'll tell them to ask your parents permission. Then we can go from there."

I discovered that Potions was one of my best classes, not that it mattered. Professor Snape only favoured the Slytherin's. He seemed to dislike anyone who was smart which didn't make sense to me. He didn't want to teach 'dunderheads' as he had put it on our first day, but he also seemed to resent anyone who was good at his subject. In his opinion, I was showing off, especially when I helped out Nick who wasn't the best at the class.

"Showing off as usual Mr. Hoofer?" Snape asked me at the end of the month.

I'd just made the best potion. He was peering down in everyone's cauldron, and everyone including his own Slytherins seemed to have made a mistake. I could tell before he said anything that I'd made it perfectly. Then he had to open his mouth. I usually didn't like to take his bait. I didn't want to lose points for Ravenclaw, but I also needed a perfect record if I wanted to be a prefect in our fifth year. If I misbehaved and got a detention, it could count against me.

That day I was feeling annoyed though and I couldn't help myself.

"I'm showing off by making the potion properly?" I asked with crossed arms.

"You are showing off by being a know-it-all," he retorted. "You could helped here, but you didn't."

"I thought I was showing off when I helped him," I said and Nick kicked me.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw for cheek," he said to me.

I opened my mouth to argue but Tasha shook her head at me. I gritted my teeth instead. How was this man still a teacher? I shouldn't have lost points. He'd wanted me to give him cheek.

"You've got to be careful," Nick said as we left the classroom ten minutes later. "He'll put people in detention for anything."

"It would be worth it," I said. "I'm tired of him insulting me for being good in the class. He said he hates when students aren't good in his class, and I've never made a bad potion."

"I've heard he can't stand Ravenclaw's," Nick said.

"He doesn't like anyone who isn't Slytherin," Tasha said. "But that was really unfair. I don't think it's just because you're a Ravenclaw. He doesn't pick on Yvette and she is almost as smart as you. It must be something else."

"Maybe he knew your parents too," Nick said. "I heard he picks on Harry Potter because he hated his father back in school."

"Who did you hear that from?" Tasha asked him.

"Seamus," he responded. "He over heard Potter and Weasley talking about it. Maybe you could ask your parents if they knew him in school. They're about the same age aren't they?"

"I think they're older," I said. "They wouldn't have been in the same year. Snape has to be in his early thirties but my parents are in their mid-thirties. I'll write home later and ask."

"Well just be careful around him," Tasha said. "You don't want detention, especially with him. I've heard he gives the worst detentions. Anyway, mum and dad wrote to me last night. The owl came to me while I was getting ready for bed."

"What did they say?" I asked. "You're not in trouble are you?"

"No," she answered. "They said that I am welcome to go to your place as much as I want. Dad said your mum asked permission for me to stay before they invited me. So you were right when you said they'd be subtle. They volunteered to take me too and from school in the summers too. I'm welcome home in the summers but if I want to stay at your place I can. Dad said to tell you to tell them, and that they should only write if they absolutely have to. They don't want too much communication from me or them."

"I still can't understand them," Nick said shaking his head. "Someday they're going to regret ignoring you."

"Are you going to come for Christmas then?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "You're right. I don't want to be here alone over the holidays. I'll just think about not being at home a lot. Besides, I'd like to meet your siblings."

"Good," I said. "I'll write to mum and dad then. We'll have so much fun," and I turned to Nick. "And you should come for New Years. We have a party every year."

"Think we could get our hands on some alcohol?" He asked.

"Not likely," I said.

"We don't need to drink anyway!" Tasha said. "We're too young."

Nick shrugged. "People our age try alcohol all the time. There must be something to it if so many grown ups like it and so do the big kids. It wouldn't hurt to try."

"Well I don't want to try any," Tasha said. "We're eleven and we don't need to drink."

"We probably couldn't get our hands on it anyway," I said. "Mum and dad make us all be in a different room. I bet I am in charge this year of the younger kids. Unless the cousins are but most of them are all sixteen and older. Mum and dad say once I am sixteen I am old enough. This year I am probably going to be the baby-sitter."

"So News Years will be spent baby-sitting?" Nick asked.

"Not all of it. Only once the alcohol comes out but it will still be fun anyway and plus we'll be in charge. Ben will probably be busy with Sam. We're the youngest Hoofer's, so it's just my sisters and Ben and Sam we'll be watching. Brianne and Brenda won't give us trouble. I bet I can get Brenda to look out for the kids anyway," I told him. "But we'll be allowed to stay up past midnight. The kids will have to go to bed but not us."

"I think it will be fun," Tasha said. "Come on Nick. We'll be able to drink when we are older. What's the fun in sneaking it anyway? We could be caught."

"That's the fun part," Nick said. "The chance to be caught is always the best part. It's all about the risk."

"You sound like a Gryffindor," she said.

"The hat did almost sort me there," he replied. "But in the end it decided I was Ravenclaw. But taking risks isn't only a Gryffindor trait anyway. One of these days I will get my hands on some, even if it's just in the common room. The older kids get careless when they have parties I've noticed."

So far, every Saturday the kids in fourth year and older threw a party. I was surprised because I thought Ravenclaw's always worked. However, perhaps it was the parties on Saturdays that made them want to work so hard during the week. They thought that if they let their hair down on Saturdays, they could use the rest of the week to work as hard as possible. That was my theory anyway.

I'd heard stories from my parents about parties in the common rooms, and they'd even mentioned Ravenclaw parties. However, I thought they were once and a while and not every weekend. I suspected it was Gryffindor who had all the parties or Slytherin. Our parties always ended by eleven thirty every night though. Nick had a point that they were careless. If someone really wanted to, they could get a bottle of alcohol because they left it lying around.

"You'll regret it when your hung-over," Tasha told him.

"I don't plan to get drunk," he said. "I just want to see what all the fuss is about."

Tasha sighed but she didn't say anything. I'd already learned they were both quite stubborn when it came to their opinions. I didn't really care either way. I was curious as well, but not enough to try and steal some. I didn't care if Nick did steal some though. It was up to him to do what he wanted. Tasha was against rule breaking, even if it was set by the other students. I think she was worried about being expelled and being sent home to where she wasn't wanted. A lot of first years were worried they'd be expelled even though it took a lot to be expelled from Hogwarts.

I just looked at Nick and shrugged. It wasn't worth fighting with her over. He just shrugged back and then entered the History of Magic classroom. I decided to write back to mum and dad as we took our seats. I'd get my notes from Nick or Tasha.

We seemed to be settled into a routine as time went on at Hogwarts.I stopped missing home so much. I loved it at the castle, but I thought about everything I was missing out at home when it came to my siblings, especially Ben and Brianne. They'd be bigger by Christmas and they would like be different. However, Hogwarts was starting to feel like home as Halloween neared. I loved the castle and the common room.

I didn't know my fellow first years that well, but I got along with them if we did talk. The other blokes in our year had formed a foursome, but they were friendly enough. Tasha didn't get along too well with the other girls except for Luna Lovegood. Luna was a strange girl, but she was nice enough. She kept to herself, but the other kids in our year made fun of her for being strange. Tasha had tried to invite her to our group, but Nick had laughed at her earrings once. They were some kind of plant, and she no longer trusted us. Though Tasha said that the two of them talked sometimes.

"Well they are funny," Nick said. "It doesn't mean I was making fun of her. I was just making fun of her earrings. She can hang out with us anytime."

"So many people have been mean to her though," Tasha explained. "She doesn't know who to trust now. I caught a couple of girls trying to hide her things. I must say, I thought Ravenclaw was supposed have smart people in it, but it's quite immature what they're doing. I don't like any of them. They give me a hard time because my two best friends are boys."

"Being smart and maturity don't go hand in hand," I said. "I mean, look at Nick."

"Hark who's talking," Nick said with a laugh. "But then again, I wouldn't call you smart."

"Except I am beating you at every class," I retorted laughing.

"For now. Lockhart's classes don't count," Nick said.

"Actually, he's one of my worst classes," I said. "I don't care about any of the things he says."

"You'll never get top of the year with that attitude," Tasha said. "It's your dream to be top of the year, but so far you aren't doing so well."

"You must not be either then since we're tied," I responded.

"I don't understand this competition to be top of the year," Nick said and he yawned. "I want to do well, but if I end up close to the bottom I won't be too fussed about it."

"You won't be," I said. "Have you seen Rosita from Slytherin?"

"Or even Gretchen," Tasha said. "How she even got into Ravenclaw I'll never understand. She's a horrid girl and she's so thick. Rosita apparently has a learning disability so she has an excuse. Gretchen is just- just- well, she's very stupid!"

Nick laughed.

"Don't tell us how you really feel," he told her.

"Not that I am sticking up for her but you don't have to be smart to be sorted here. Ravenclaw has other traits," I spoke up. "She does spend a lot of time on school work too. And I don't believe I am all that smart, I just work hard to succeed."

"Maybe but I just hate her so much," Tasha said sighing. "Out of all the girls, she is the worst! But then again, I don't really know which house she actually would belong in. I think you underestimate yourself Barry. You are clever."

"Perhaps but I don't think I could ever catch up to Hermione Granger. I've heard how well she did last year," I said. "And when I think about my own siblings it gets to me as well. Ben is already working on maths. I was just learning to add at his age. He can already multiply numbers."

I didn't like to admit my insecurities too much, but I was the oldest in my family. I knew my parents had both been top of their years. They'd both been Ravenclaws, Prefects, and Heads. My cousins were also really smart. Professor Flitwick had told me that I was in the top ten of the year. Most people would be happy about that, but I knew a lot of my cousins were in the top five. Mum and dad kept me up to date on my siblings and they were all doing better than I had with my tutoring, especially my little brother.

"Hermione Granger is a rarity though," Nick said with a wave of his hand. "And your little brother probably feels he has to live up to you. He probably works hard to impress you, and it's why he is doing so well."

"From what you've told us about Ben, I think Nick is right," Tasha said. "I don't think it's just you, but Brenda as well. I think he feels even at that age that he has to live up to you two. I've noticed how proud he seems to be of you in just the letters he sends."

"Never thought you'd get insecure Hoofer," Nick said with a grin. "You seem so confident in classes."

"I have my moments," I answered.

On Halloween, there was a big feast in celebration. All day the first years could talk about nothing else. Usually mum and dad took us out trick or treating. Part of me wished I was back at home doing that, even though I was almost twelve. It had always been a fun night. First we'd go out and get candy in Godric's Hallow, and then we'd sit together while mum and dad checked our candy to make sure it was safe. Afterwards, the four of us would trade candy for what we liked best.

I knew a feast couldn't compare and that it was likely to be amazing, but at times like this, I always thought back to home and what I'd be doing. As amazing as Hogwarts was, I still thought of my family and missed the small moments. After classes, while we were headed down to the Great Hall, I knew my parents were getting my siblings prepared to go out trick or treating.

I mentioned this to Tasha and Nick as we made our way down to the Great Hall.

"Mum and dad took me out too," Tasha said. "I didn't know wizards did it too."

"We do some of the same things," Nick told her. "I mean, they got a lot of their ideas from us. Look at all the kids who dress like ghosts and everything else from our world."

"Well it's because they've seen it, they just don't realize it," I said. "It's hard to prove it when we do our best to keep it all a secret. Most of their horror fictions from things they witnessed from our world. I'm just not sure who came up with the idea of trick or treating first."

"If only Binns could tell us useful information like that," Nick said with a sigh. "You'd think he'd want to tell us the history of Halloween today. I mean, I know he has lesson plans to follow but you can change your plans for one day."

"They do in primary school," Tasha said. "We learned about the history of holidays. In October, everything would be Hogwarts themed. In December, we would be learning anything about Christmas. So I don't see why he couldn't here, but then again he doesn't know he is even dead right? He probably doesn't know the day then. I'm surprised he even knows what year he is teaching. I never expected we'd be taught by a ghost."

"I don't even know why they keep him on," Nick said as we entered the Great Hall.

"Well he's boring but he knows the subject," I said. "And maybe he just doesn't want to leave. Guess it's cheaper anyway isn't it? Can't pay a ghost. What does he need money for?"

"True," Nick said and we walked over to the Ravenclaw table. "They should do that for the Defense teacher. Then they might keep one for longer than a year."

We sat down with the rest of the first years. The Great Hall looked amazing. It had pumpkins all around the room that were so big, Tasha, Nick and me could all sit inside one with lots of room to spare. There were live bats flying overhead as well, though many of the girls (including Tasha) didn't like them. Over at the Gryffindor table, a boy in our year named Colin Creevey was taking pictures. He took pictures of everything.

"Course Creevey is taking pictures," a boy named Philip said as he too noticed Colin.

"Well I can't blame him," Tasha said. "It's amazing in here!"

"But Creevey takes pictures of everything," Philip replied. "It's a bit annoying to be honest. I heard he tried to make Harry sign pictures."

"Well Harry probably signed it did," Gretchen, the girl Tasha disliked spoke up. "I've heard he loves his fame and that he is a show off. He acts all high and mighty just cause he's got a scar on his head. He isn't so special. The spell could have backfired on anyone."

"You're kidding right?" Philip asked.

"You-Know-Who is gone because of Harry," Nick added.

"And Harry hates the fame anyway," I said. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Pansy Parkinson told me so, so there!" Gretchen said as she folded her arms in defiance.

"That's your first mistake, listening to a Parkinson," Kevin, another bloke in our dorm said. "Why don't you shut up for once Gretchen?"

I glanced over at Tasha who looked as if she were enjoying this. I'd never really paid attention to the other girls that much. I had no idea that Gretchen was that annoying. I'd gotten along with everyone so far, but it seemed most people except her friends seemed to agree with Tasha. Even Luna was nodding her head in agreement to Kevin. She too was glaring over at the girl.

"Whatever," Gretchen said as she flung her hair back.

Kevin rolled his eyes and then smirked at me when he noticed me looking at him. Moments later, Professor Dumbledore stood up to announce that the feast was starting. After he sat down, the empty plates loaded up with food. It was different foods from the usual Hogwarts dinners. I helped to myself to as much as I could.

While everyone ate, some charmed skeletons began dancing around and doing silly things. Some tripped and their bones all came apart. Others took their heads off. Some put their bones back in the wrong places. It was very entertaining and funny. The Great Hall was full of laughter and applause.

"The things we can learn to do," Tasha said afterwards. "I can't wait until I can get to that level."

Everyone began leaving the Great Hall at once. I was exhausted and full. All I wanted to do was get to my dormitory and go to sleep. I figured it would be one of those nights when I would fall asleep right away. However, we ended up getting stuck in the crowd of students on the way.

"Should have just taken your short cut," Nick said to Tasha. "I'm too full for this. Why is everyone standing around anyway?"

Everyone was quiet, so we pushed our way through as much as we could. We didn't make it to the front before someone shouted:

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Enemies of the heir beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!"


	3. First Year Part Three

I felt fury as I tried to push my way over to the voice. Who had said that? Why would they say that? I didn't make it there before Filch made his way though.

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

Good question. I thought to myself as we tried to see what was going on. I thought I could see something on the wall, but I wasn't sure. Everyone else was trying to do the same as me, and a lot of the older students were so tall. Filch pushed his way through the crowd, and people parted so he could have a path to get through. As he did this, I finally had a good view of the wall. I was better off not seeing what it was.

There, hanging on the wall on a torch by her tail was his old cat, Mrs. Norris. The words that the boy had shouted (except 'you'll be next Mudbloods.') was painted on the wall above her.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris!" He shouted.

Standing not too far from the wall was Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. There was no way they were involved. They had to have just gotten there before us. Hermione was muggleborn, and everyone knew Harry's story. That didn't stop Filch from shouting:

"You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-"

"ARGUS!" Another voice shouted.

I turned quickly and accidently stepped on an older students foot as I did this. The boy didn't seem to take notice though. He too was looking towards the the newcomer. It was Professor Dumbledore followed by many other teachers.

Professor Dumbledore walked past everyone, and then straight over to the torch holding the cat. He took her off before turning to Harry and his friends and Filch.

"Come with me Argus," he said. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger."

Lockhart seemed as if we wanted to be important because he stepped forward quickly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster-just upstairs-please feel free-"

"That you Gilderoy," Professor Dumbledore replied.

Professor's Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and Lockhart all left with the three students and Filch. The remaining teachers turned to us students.

"Everyone else back to your common rooms! Ravenclaw's follow me please. First years first please," Professor Flitwick said.

"Gryffindor's follow me!" A boy called out. "First years in front!"

"What does that mean?" Tasha asked in a whisper as we followed Flitwick. "What is the Chamber of Secrets and what is a Mudblood? What happened to that cat? Harry didn't do that. There is no way!"

"Wait until we're back in the common room," Nick muttered to her. "We'll talk then."

"But-" Tasha began but I shook my head.

Professor Flitwick was a tiny teacher. We'd speculated during our first week if he was part elf. Even us first years were taller than him. But even with his tiny size, he seemed to be able to move fast. He didn't even stop at our stairs. He lead all the way up the steps, and up to the entrance to our common room. Professor Flitwick knocked on the door, and when the magical voice asked the question, he answered immediately and then stepped in. He stood aside and waited for everyone to enter.

"Sit down please," he squeaked. "Is everyone here?"

The first years all sat together close to the entrance where Flitwick still stood. The second years sat behind us and everyone else followed suit.

"Professor," a sixth year girl called out as she sat on the edge of a chair. "What happened? Is it a prank? Did Harry just stun that cat or-"

"Innocent until proven guilty," Flitwick interrupted her. "We have no proof that Potter did that. I don't believe he did. He was found at the scene, but he may have just arrived just before everyone else did. Now, I just want to make sure that everyone is here. We will tell you more when we know more. For now, I'd liked for everyone to look out for each other. Prefects, please ensure that no one sneaks out-"

"But you don't think there is any danger do you?" A second year boy called out. "What is the Chamber of Secrets?"

"In due time Mr. Corner, in due time," Professor Flitwick said. "It could just be a Halloween prank, but we must all take precautions anyway. I just ask that everyone be careful for the next few days until we know more. That means no night time wandering… not that you should be under normal circumstances but if one were to feel that need to, tonight is not the night!"

"We'll make sure everyone is in bed!" A boy prefect said. "We'll wait until everyone is in bed before we do."

"Thank you," Professor Flitwick said. "I must go find out what is going on. You may stay up a little longer to discuss this. I can tell you all want to, but then please go to bed."

After Professor Flitwick left, Gretchen stood up. She looked nervous as she looked around at everyone.

"Can someone please explain what the Chamber of Secrets is?" She asked. "Someone older must know!"

"We don't," a girl in the seventh year said. "At least most of us don't. It's not something that Binn's has ever taught us. The teachers have never talked about it. I know I've heard of it before, but I never thought much about it."

"But it must be in one of the library books," a boy in the third year called out. "We just need to find it, but it could be hard. I imagine everyone else in the school is going to try and find out as well. I think if someone finds out, they should let everyone else know."

"We'll try," the sixth year girl prefect said. "But I do ask that no one in Ravenclaw tries to go out on their own. Just stick together if you aren't a prefect."

"Because nothing bad can happen to a prefect," Nick muttered.

Everyone began getting up and moving into their own groups. Nick stood up and beckoned for us to follow him to a table on the other side of the room. Most people even though they were in groups were still close to each other. We hurried over to the table and sat down.

"So what's a mudblood?" Tasha asked the moment we sat down. "Is anyone going to explain it to me?"

"It's the worst possible thing anyone can call a muggleborn," Nick said. "You know all about You-Know-Who's reign, so we don't have to explain that but-"

"So it's insult for us then," Tasha stated.

"It means like you have dirty blood or something since you weren't born from a Wizarding family," I said. "A lot of people still think that it should just be people born from a long line of Wizards. But it doesn't even matter. If you're magical than you belong in this world. Look at you. Look at Hermione Granger and there are many other examples."

"Draco Malfoy is just a little git. His family should be in Azkaban. They were supporters if You-Know-Who and then when he was gone, they pretended they never meant it. I bet he'd be scared if You-Know-Who actually did come back," Nick said angrily.

"Who is Draco Malfoy?" Tasha asked.

"He's some older boy in Slytherin. He's in the second or third year I think. He is the one who yelled that," Nick said.

"That's who yelled it?" I asked. "I didn't see who it was. My dad can't Lucius Malfoy. He has it out for our family."

"He has it out for anyone who would be considered a blood traitor," Nick said.

"He hates that we come from money too though," I said. "But he has more, and so he is always rubbing it in dad's face. Says that dad would have more money if he didn't keep having kids. I think he once compared us to the Weasley's… not that that's a bad thing. The Weasley's are a good family, but he seems to look down on big families and they Weasley's are poor."

"Considering most of his family is inbred, he isn't one to talk," Nick said. "All of them marry cousins just to make sure their purebloods. They can't keep doing that. Without muggleborns we wouldn't have last this long. My great great grandfather was a muggleborn."

"So does that make you half-blood or pure-blood?" Tasha asked.

"I think we're still half-blood but I am not entirely sure," Nick said with a shrug. "We've never really given it much thought because it doesn't matter to us. I only know this from when my parents have talked about You-Know-Who. He married a pureblood and I think everyone has been pureblood since but not on purpose."

"I think we're related to the Malfoy's somehow," I said. "I think maybe through the Blacks but I don't know. We might even be distantly related to the Weasley's. We come from a long line of purebloods too. Although one of my cousins just married a muggleborn, so she is breaking tradition. None of that has mattered to us either. It just happened that way. I believe maybe on mum's side of the family there are half-bloods."

"I read in a book that sometimes muggleborns come from squibs," Tasha said. "So there is a chance that maybe one of my ancestors was a squib. It would be awful to be a squib. You have wizarding parents but you aren't magical at all?"

"That's why a lot just go work in the muggle world," Nick said. "And there is a chance that's true. Sometimes that's why magical parents end up with a squib too because their parents weren't magical. It's all so complicated but it shouldn't matter. No one should be judged on whether they are magical or not."

"Are there parents like mine then with squibs?" Tasha asked.

"Probably yes," I said. "If I had a kid that was a squib it wouldn't matter to me. Some people like the Malfoy's would find that to be a great disappointment. They want their blood lines to carry on, and yet they produced a child with no magic. I'd hate to see what Lucius would have done if Draco wasn't magical."

"Probably be in some muggle orphanage," Nick said.

"And neither of you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?" Tasha asked. "I mean, it must mean that muggleborns are the enemies of the heir, right?"

"I think it has to do with Salazar Slytherin, but that's it," Nick said.

"I'll write to mum and dad tomorrow," I said. "They might know. Mum loved History of Magic in school. She actually stayed in it until the end of seventh year."

"But that seventh year said they didn't learn about it," Tasha reminded me. "I bet it's in that book, Hogwarts, A History. I was looking at it in Diagon Alley. I wanted to buy it, but my parents wouldn't let me. McGonagall was the one to take us there, and they said since it was their money buying the books, they weren't buying any other useless book."

"What did McGonagall say to that?" I asked.

"She didn't but she did glare at them," Tasha replied. "So you two should write home, and I'll check the library tomorrow."

Everyone else had the same idea that we did though. Tasha went that morning after breakfast to check it out. Nick and I wrote letters to our parents in the common room after we ate. I told them everything about the night before even though Nick didn't think it was a good idea.

"It might end up in the Prophet anyway," I said. "And I tell them everything. What is the point in keeping it secret?"

"Come on mate, you can't possibly tell them everything," Nick said to me. "Everyone has secrets from their parents. What about when you start dating or snogging girls? Are you going to tell them when you start drinking too or when you-"

"There are exceptions," I interrupted. "Don't be a prat. You know what I mean. When it comes to this though? Yes, I tell them everything."

"You tell them most things," Nick stated.

"If you want to get technical," I replied as I rolled my eyes. "Does it really matter?"

"Not really. It just annoys me when you say: 'I tell them everything,' when we all know that's not true," Nick said.

"You still haven't told me why this should be a big secret," I said.

"Because they'll freak out and they'll overreact," Nick said. "Parents can be like that. They might think they need to come and take their baby out of school."

"They won't do that," I said. "Maybe yours will but mine won't."

"I dunno… sounds like Barry is a bit of a mama's boy…" Nick said with a smirk.

"Right," I said. "Cause Nick doesn't get a treat almost every single day. Mum and dad only send me treats sometimes. What was it you got yesterday? A big bag of candies?"

"That I shared with you," Nick said.

"Not the point at all mate," I said. "You wanna call someone a mama's boy, you should look in the mirror."

"I tell my parents everything," Nick said in a high pitched voice.

I threw my quill at him and he started to laugh. We began throwing things back and forth at each other when Tasha joined us from the library.

"You two are so immature," she said as she sat down.

"We know," Nick said. "Where is the book? I thought you were going to get it."

"All the copies are already checked out," she answered. "I suppose I shouldn't have eaten breakfast first. They probably all went as soon as the library was open. We can only hope that some Ravenclaw's checked them out."

"Well hopefully mum and dad get back to me quickly," I said as I rolled up my parchment. "I'm done writing. Have you?" I added to Nick.

"Not quite. Some git was distracting me while I was trying," he answered. "I'm almost done."

"The words are still on the wall," Tasha said. "I walked past it on the way back. The water is gone now. I wonder why the floor was flooded last night."

"Was it flooded?" I asked her.

"You didn't notice?" She asked.

"I was too busy looking at the dead cat to notice the flood," I said.

"I didn't see it either," Nick replied. "I heard one of the older kids saying the cat isn't dead. It's petrified. Whatever that means."

"So something scared it so bad that it froze? But how is it still alive?" Tasha asked.

"That is odd," I said and I unrolled my parchment again. "I'll add that into the letter too. Mum and dad might know what it means."

"Well, there is no way Harry could have done that," Tasha said. "I'd expect it's some kind of curse and he's only a second year. I hope your parents know something, or one of the older kids find something out. That's going too far for a Halloween prank."

"Well, I'm done," Nick said as he rolled up his parchment and looked at me.

"Me too," I replied. "Let's go. Then let's go outside. It's still nice out. We might as well not worry too much about it until we know more."

Thankfully our parents got back to us that day. Nick received his letter about five minutes after I got mine. My mum started out the letter lecturing me to be very careful and not to go anywhere without Tasha or NIck, and to keep a close eye on Tasha.

Dad took over after that and explained that the four founders of Hogwarts worked well together at first. After a while, Salazar Slytherin didn't want to take in muggleborns because he didn't think they were worthy enough to study at Hogwarts. Eventually he left the school. The Chamber of Secrets was a Chamber that Salazar Slytherin had apparently made before he'd left the school. It was supposed to contain a monster that would get rid of muggleborns if the true heir opened the Chamber. It was supposed to be a myth though.

"Perhaps it is real after all. I can't see a child being powerful enough to pull that kind of prank," dad wrote. "So I ask that you listen to your mother, and just stick with your friends. Go to class, and then go back to your common room. We will see what we can find out. Don't listen to anything anyone says about Harry Potter being behind it. He's a twelve-year-old boy first of all, and secondly you know what happened at Hogwarts last year. Something else might be going on because he has returned to the Wizarding World. Either way, that kid wouldn't do anything to hurt muggleborns. I remember Hogwarts and the rumours. I hope you won't listen to them. Please keep us updated. I haven't told your siblings yet, so keep it quiet if you write to them."

"What did Harry do last year?" Tasha asked and Nick looked curious too.

I quickly explained what mum and dad had told me.

"So what if actually is something to do with You-Know-Who?" Nick asked. "If that stone had to do with last year, what if he found a way to get someone to do it now?"

"But how?" I asked. "He's in Albania and no one actually knows if it was him last year. That's just a rumour. Mum and dad said it could just be a greedy teacher, but they'd heard that. No one ever knows the truth though. I don't see how he could have made a teacher do that if he's in Albania. The Philosopher's Stone can make you immortal or rich. No wonder Quirrell wanted it. They only told me that just so I could be on the look out on anything funny."

"And the Chamber of Secrets is odd, and Harry was found near it," Tasha said.

"But it could also be a prank," Nick said. "Someone might have looked up the Chamber of Secrets and they decided to be funny. Just because people think that a kid can't do that, it doesn't mean they can't."

"And Harry was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," I said.

Just as I said that, another owl flew over to us with an envelope. It was from Nick's parents. He read through it quickly and then shrugged.

"Says basically the same as yours," Nick said. "Except dad said that some of the Slytherin's might know spells they shouldn't and that they could have petrified the cat. Everyone hates Filch. Mum said to put it out of my mind and just focus on school."

But it was hard to do that. It was all anyone would talk about, and so many people had different theories about it. Some people thought that it was Harry still, but many others thought it wasn't possible for a second year to do that kind of magic. Only some thought it was likely a prank from an older Slytherin kid. Most seemed to be in agreement that it was Slytherin's heir though.

"How can anyone think it's Harry?" Nick asked one morning as we made our way down to the first Quidditch Match of the year. "I mean, have they really thought this over?"

Even the blokes in our dorm believed that Harry was behind it. Did they forget that You-Know-Who had killed Harry's parents? Did they forget that one of his best friends was muggleborn? His mother was also a muggleborn too. People also knew that he had stopped the Defense teacher the year before from stealing the stone.

"I don't think they really do," a voice said from behind us.

We turned to see that it was Luna Lovegood. Luna was a nice girl. I still had no problems with her, and as far as I knew Nick didn't either. However, she usually did come up with some kind of barmy response to things. So I wondered what it was she was about to say. Was it going to be something silly, such as everyone had been put under a confundus charm that night?

"Why do you say that?" Nick asked her.

"Well, it's just easier to say that it's him isn't?" She asked. "They're going for the most simple explanation."

"Well yes, we guess that," Nick said and he rolled his eyes.

"But it doesn't mean they really believe it," Luna responded. "No one really wants to think things thoroughly do they? It's so easy to blame Harry even though deep down they know he couldn't possible have done it."

"I don't think it's that they don't want to think it thoroughly," I said. "But I think you have a point. It is easier to blame him since he was at the scene of the crime. They'd have to think of a better solution, but could it really be but him?"

"It's silly though," Tasha said. "Hermione is his best friend. What do you think attacked that cat Luna?"

"A basilisk," she answered.

We were close to the stadium now. Nick and I paused to stare at her. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Tasha looked confused and Nick wore a smirk on his face.

"What is basilisk?" Tasha asked.

"It's a giant snake," Nick responded. "But it's impossible. Someone would have noticed a giant snake hanging around the castle wouldn't they? Besides, they're rare."

"Well, it is a good guess though," Tasha said. "I mean, Slytherin is known for controlling snake isn't he? It's supposed to be Slytherin's heir."

"And their stare is deadly," Luna added.

"But it's not possible Luna," I said. "I can see why you would think so I guess but they're huge! It would never be able to get around the castle without anyone noticing. Besides, people die from the stare. They don't get petrified."

Luna shrugged.

"Well, we should get to the game," she said and she began walking again.

Anytime she spoke, it was in what I could only describe as a dreamy voice. Through out that conversation, she had kept the same tone. We could have just been discussing the weather.

"For Luna, that wasn't too bad," Nick said. "I was expecting to hear that it was a Crumple Horned Snorkack. I've heard her going on about it many times."

"What is that?" Tasha asked as we followed Luna, but at a slower pace.

"It's not real. I expect her father told her about them. He runs some mad magazine called The Quibbler. It's full of strange things. No wonder Luna believes those kind of things. She just repeats what her dad says."

"It can be a good laugh though," I said. "But you're right. I expected her to say something completely barmy. A Basilisk is over the top, but I suppose she went for Slytherin's love for snakes. It's just they are incredibly rare, so it couldn't be one, even if we forget the fact that someone would have seen the thing after the attack."

"I've been looking up spells that could petrify," Tasha said. "But I can't find anything yet."

"I expect it's in the Restricted Section," Nick told her. "It's why it has to be an older Slytherin who did it. They don't give those books out to first or second years. I doubt even anyone in third year. 'd say that it's NEWT level. They study advanced magic, and they likely could have pretended it was a Defense Against the Dark Arts project. No one would question it."

We found Luna at the top of the bleachers sitting apart from the other Ravenclaw first years. I hesitated, and then I walked over to join her. I wasn't in the mood to listen to the others talk about Harry. Gretchen was the most annoying out of all of them. I could understand Tasha's hatred for her. Luna wasn't bad at all. I would rather listen to a lecture about Crumple Horned Snorkacks then to listen to Gretchen's annoyingly high pitched laugh.

"Hope Harry knocks that Malfoy kid off his broom," Nick said.

Tasha took a seat beside Luna while Nick and I took a seat behind the girls.

"He's on the team?" I asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Nick asked. "His father bought his way onto the team. He bought new brooms for all the Slytherin team. Ridiculous really. I just hope he's a terrible player."

"Harry's quite good," Luna said. "And the Snitch is usually drawn to the better player."

"Is that so?" Nick asked her but he sounded amused. He grinned over at me and then shook his head.

Why were people so mean to her? I wondered to myself. It was a shame she didn't have friends but she never hung out with us much. She was always welcome, but she simply didn't trust us. I didn't think it was just Nick's fault, but the other Ravenclaw's as well.

"Well, we'll see if that works in his favour then," I said to her hoping that she didn't think I was making fun of her.

The game didn't go that way though. I'd seen Quidditch games before. Dad sometimes got tickets and we all went to watch. This game was just odd. One of the Bludgers was focused just on Harry and no one else. Bludgers didn't do that. They went after any player, and usually with the Beater's help. They were the ones who hit them at the players, but the could fly around on their own. They just didn't hit certain people. However, one of them, no matter what the Weasley twins did, it went after him. Then for some reason after the team called for time-out, they left Harry to deal with it on his own.

It was raining by this point and I wished we'd brought an umbrella. Luna seemed to have guessed that it was going to rain because she pulled out an enormous umbrella from her robes. How had it even fit in them? I wondered. Luna opened it and raised it up as if trying to cover us all. Nick leaned forward and took it out of her hand to hold it up better.

"Why is it doing that?" Tasha asked. "From the practices we've seen, and from what I've read, that isn't supposed to happen."

"It does if someone angers a fairy," Luna told her. "Harry must have angered one."

"Yes that must be it," Nick said sarcastically. "What is the team playing at? They should be protecting him!"

"Maybe they decided-" Luna began but she let out a loud groan.

The Bludger so far hadn't hit Harry, but it suddenly hit his arm. He was far away, but I was sure I had heard the crack as his arm broke.

"Oh my," Luna said.

"They can't let him keep playing!" Tasha shrieked.

But then to everyone disbelief, Harry managed to catch the Snitch even with a broken arm! Everyone began to cheer. I thought it looked as if even the Slytherin's were, and it was their team that had lost. I took it as that Harry had caught the Snitch even with a broken arm. I didn't think they were happy about their loss.

"Let's go!" Nick said and he handed Luna back her broom as the crowd began hurrying down to Harry as he landed, or more like fell off the broom.

"Are you coming?" I asked Luna who remained seated.

"No, I am just going to stay here a bit. I enjoy the rain," she responded. "Thank you for sitting with me. No one ever sits with me."

"You can sit with us anytime," Tasha told her.

"I know you're not sincere, but thanks," Luna said.

Nick waited until we were out of earshot before he turned to Tasha.

"Why would you say that? What if she decided to sit with us all the time?" He asked her.

"And that would be a problem?" Tasha demanded. "I don't like bullying, and I don't think people should be lonely either. She's quite nice even if she does say mad things. She's never been mean to you."

"She's odd though," Nick replied. "And I don't bully her either and I don't like bullying. I don't mind if she sits with us sometimes, but I think she would drive us up the wall. I mean I'd take her over Gretchen any day but-"

"Well, I am going to talk to her when I can," Tasha said defiantly. "It must be awful for her to be alone all the time."

"She really isn't bad," I said. "She can be entertaining."

"Wonder what's going on with Harry," Nick said as he nodded over to where the crowd of people were. They all looked shocked as his two friends were walking on either side of him. They seemed to be supporting him. It was hard to tell from the distance and with all the rain. Colin Creevey was taking his picture as they went.

"I'd be throwing that camera away if I were Harry," I said.

"Colin is nice but that would annoy me," Tasha said. "He took a picture of the wall with the writing on it. I don't understand why he would want a picture of that."

"I don't understand why he'd want so many pictures," Nick said. "Is he trying to document everyday he is here? I mean, I understand some pictures but all the time?"

It was raining harder by that point, and it was quite cold.

"Let's go with Hagrid, shall we?" Nick asked as he nodded in the Games keepers direction. "Rain might let up while we're visiting him.

He was on his way to his hut by that point.

"Why?" Tasha asked. "He's quite big and scary isn't he?"

"Hagrid's nice," I said. "My parents talked to him sometimes when they were in school. I think she still do sometimes."

"My parents are friends with him," Nick said. "I've been meaning to go visit him since we got here, but so much has been going on. We should go over now. I don't want him to think I've been avoiding him. Students hang out with him in his hut all the time."

"Well if you're sure," Tasha said uncertainly.

Being so big, it didn't take long for Hagrid to reach his hut. We moved faster not only to catch up with him but because of the rain too. A cold drop hit the back of my neck and trickled down my back. I shivered and moved faster. He was inside by the time we got close to the hut. Nick raced to the door and knocked on it. It took a few moments before he came. He opened the door and glanced down at us and then he grinned.

"Nick!" He said excitedly. "And yeh gotta be the oldest Hoofer boy," he added to me. "Wondered when I migh' see yeh Nick. Come in."

"We've been busy," Nick told him as we followed him inside.

He had a fire going, so we instantly warmed up. We'd learned a drying spell just recently in Charms, so I began working on my robes once Tasha shut the door behind him.

"We figured this was the best time as any to see you though," Nick continued.

"I expect yeh lot just came from the game?" He asked.

He started to boil some water and brought out four mugs.

"Yes," I answered.

My drying charm wasn't all that great but I wasn't as wet as I had been. If we stayed long enough, they would dry on their own. I took one of the chairs closest to the fire. Tasha still looked nervous, especially once Hagrid's black boar hound rushed over to sniff her.

"He's friendly," Hagrid assured Tasha who didn't pet the dog right away. "His name is Fang."

Slowly, Tasha reached out and began petting him.

"Has a Bludger ever gone mad before?" Nick asked taking a seat. "It was odd that it kept chasing Harry."

"Perhaps Harry did indeed anger a fairy," I joked.

"Angered a fairy?" Hagrid asked.

He set three steaming mugs on the table that had teabags in them.

"Some dotty girl said that's why it was chasing him," Nick said with a smirk.

"Yeh can sit down," Hagrid said to Tasha. "I've got milk and sugar if you'd like to add it to yer tea."

"She's just a bit nervous," I told him. "That's Tasha, and I'm Barry."

"Hullo Tasha," he said to her. "No need to be nervous. I don't bite neither. Students come down to visit me all the time. I take it all three of yeh are Ravenclaw?"

"Yes," she answered in a small voice before she took a seat. Fang who seemed to like her, followed and then put his head in her lap.

"Enjoyin it so far?" He asked her and she nodded.

"I love everything about Hogwarts so far… well most of it so far," she said. "I'm already close to the top of the year."

"I expect yeh are too," Hagrid said smiling at me. "I know yer parents were and I think some of yer cousins are."

"We're tied," I said smiling over at Tasha. "But I'll beat her by the end of the term."

"Bring it on," she said.

"About the Bludger," Nick said impatiently. "What happened with it Hagrid."

"I dunno about that meself," Hagrid replied. "I've never seen one do that and I've been to almost every game since I started at Hogwarts meself. Someone had to have tampered with it."

"So someone bewitched to chase Harry?" Tasha asked. "You don't think it was that Malfoy boy do you?"

"That's a nasty kid but no kid coulda done that," Hagrid told her. "No, I don't understand how it coulda been tampered with but somethin' happened to it.."

"You don't think it has to do with what happened at Halloween do you?" I asked him. "It seems odd."

"I dunno," Hagrid answered sighing. "I expect the teachers are lookin into it though aren't they? As for this Chamber of Secrets nonsense. I hope the three of yeh stay out of it. Too many students are tryin to figure it out and it's best to just leave it up to the teachers. I'll need a word with Harry and his friends too. I expect they'll try as well. After what happened las' year and ever'thing but, anyway, tell me more about yer first year. Tell me how yer parents have been Nick. Haven't talked to them for a couple years now. And yer parents Barry. Yer sisters will be comin in a few years too won't they?"

It was a first of many afternoons we'd spend with Hagrid. It was a pleasant day, and by the time we were ready to leave, the rain had let up a bit.

The next day, we woke up to some scary news. There had been another attack, but this time on a student. Colin Creevey was attacked during the night. Many people wondered what he was doing out in the middle of night. Some figured he was probably trying to visit Harry while others thought it was Harry who did it.

"Harry was re-growing his bones," Nick said. "I heard from Penelope Clearwater, that's the sixth year prefect that Lockhart accidentally removed the bones in Harry's arm. She heard it from Percy Weasley."

"You can lose your bones?" Tasha asked paling.

"Only if an incompetant teacher tries to fix them. I imagine he tried to fix Harry's arm yesterday but instead he removed the bones. That's why it looked odd yesterday," I told her. "And we know Creevey worships Harry, so he was probably off to visit him. Guess whoever is doing the attacks wanted to find a student wandering off curfew. Flitwick was right to warn us not to go out. I wonder who could have done it though?"

"So why would people think Harry did it?" Tasha asked.

"Well it's like Luna said yesterday," Nick said. "It's the most convenient answer, but Madam Pomfrey would have noticed he'd gone, but I don't think he could so much when he lost the bones in his arm. Maybe it's one of the prefects. They can be out after hours just to patrol the corridors."

"And they'd be in the advanced years," I said. "There are two prefects in each year from the fifth. That's at least six people in Slytherin."

"And twenty-four altogether," Tasha said quickly. "Just because it's Slytherin's heir, the person doesn't have to be in Slytherin. It would be so easy for people to blame the Slytherin's but it could be one of the Hufflepuff's for all we know. No one would ever suspect them, or even our own prefects. People are so quick to blame Harry and he isn't Slytherin."

"You could be right and it might even be the Head Boy or Girl," I added. "So that's twenty-six people altogether."

"Unless it's another teacher," Nick said. "No one suspected Quirrell last year until the last minute. Maybe Lockhart is behind. Think about it, he is new here and suddenly the Chamber is open?"

"And even he probably got annoyed by Colin," I said. "And I heard that Filch is a Squib. So Lockhart could have gone after Mrs. Norris just to make a point at first. He probably didn't want to attack a student for the first attack."

"But he seems really nice," Tasha said. "And he is so handsome."

"That doesn't mean anything," Nick said. "Lockhart is a fraud. I don't believe half the stuff he says he did in his book, or even any of it if you must know. I've also heard him going on about how he knows how to save Mrs. Norris."

"But you both have said he is incompetant," Tasha pointed out. "If you believe that, how can you believe he could do a powerful spell like that?"

"Well everyone has their strengths," I told her. "And he could be good at fooling everyone."

"And maybe he purposely removed Harry's bones. Maybe he wanted to do more," Nick added.

"I'm not convinced," Tasha said.

"Well, it makes more sense than Harry," I said. "He's a grown man and Harry is technically the same age as me. I mean, I know he has a full year ahead of me but he can't be that much more advanced. And besides, he is friends with Hermione."

"I don't think it's Harry or Lockhart," Tasha said.

"Well it's someone who could wander the corridors at night," I said.

"And that's the prefects if they're on duty, a teacher or the Heads. If it was a student breaking curfew, they'd have a hard time getting back to their common room. Someone would have spotted them," Nick said.

"I don't want you walking on your own anymore," I said to Tasha. "Please just go out whenever Nick and me do. The three of us should stick together whenever we can. It's you they'll be after though."

"I don't want to go anywhere by myself," Tasha admitted. "And I hate to think of Luna going anywhere by herself too. I know she's pureblood but don't the target blood traitors too? All of us first years should stick together!"

"We should," Nick agreed. "Do you think you could talk to the girls? We'll talk to the boys."

Tasha nodded. "I'm sure no one will have any complaints about it. I bet they're scared too."

And that's what we did, but so did the first years in the other houses. Even the Slytherin first years were all walking to and from classes together. We decided that even if someone needed to go to the library, someone should always be with them. We even decided someone should be near someone when they needed the loo just in case. The girls who usually avoided Luna made sure she wasn't even left on her own, which we were relieved about.

The second week of December, Professor Flitwick went around taking names of people who were staying for the holidays.

"Please tell me you've decided for sure to come with me," I said to Tasha.

"Of course," Tasha said quickly. "There is no way I am staying here by myself. What if the monster or whatever it is, is set loose in the castle to attack anyone that stays? I'd even go home even if mum and dad protested. I just don't want to be here without you two."

"Good," I said. "I just hope we can get to the holidays with no more attacks."

Shortly after that, a sign went up announcing that a Duelling Club was opening up at Hogwarts. We signed up right away. It could be a good way to defend ourselves against the attacker. If we were quick enough, we could get them before they got us.

"But a seventh year could always be quicker than us," Tasha said. "Even if we do learn some good spells. They've had practice and I imagine this person must be really dark."

It turned out the whole school seemed to have the same idea. When we arrived for the first lesson, it was to find the Great Hall completely crowded. It turned out that Lockhart was the one behind it.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all," Nick said.

"But if you think it's him then maybe he knows something," Tasha pointed out.

"That is true," I said.

Snape was helping with the lesson. The two teachers demonstrated to us first, and Snape nearly knocked Lockhart out. Nick and I couldn't help but cheer with everyone else. Tasha of course was worried about him, but so were many other girls. Either he was a very good actor, or he was horrible at duelling. Perhaps we were wrong to suspect him after all.

After this happened, they had us pair up to practice the charm. Nick and I were able to be partners while Snape made Tasha partner up with Gretchen. The two girls eyed each other with dislike. He paired Luna up with some Slytherin girl who looked twice her size. I hoped for Luna's sake that the girl didn't know much about magic. She looked as if she could squash her and Luna was quite small.

When we were told to go, not too many people actually disarmed each other. Nick and I were part of the few partners. Everyone else was using hexes or curses they knew. I figured this was Snape's fault for putting people together who disliked each other. Luckily Tasha seemed quicker than Gretchen. The girl tried to hit her with Furnunculus, but Tasha was quick. She tried to disarm her and the two jinxes bounced off each other. Tasha then tried to disarm her again and Gretchen lost her wand.

Lockhart was yelling out to everyone that he'd said to just disarm only. Snape took things in his own hands and stopped the spells when he called out: "Finite!" Everyone stopped and looked around. Several people were bleeding. Luna was dabbing at a cut on her arm.

"I think I'd better teach you to block unfriendly spells," Lockhart said after he'd surveyed the room.

Tasha joined us looking annoyed.

"That girl is horrible. I can't believe she actually tried to give me boils!" She said angrily. "I don't know how Patricia and Kyliegh can stand her! She's just always so mean!"

"Sometimes I think they don't like her," Nick said. "Maybe they just put up with her."

"I don't understand why someone would want to be so mean," I said as I took glanced over at the girl with dislike. She was looking for her wand. She kept glaring over at Tasha.

Lockhart meanwhile was trying to find a pair to demonstrate how to block spells. I was sure my dad once told me, but I couldn't remember it. It was something I'd have to ask if later on. Snape ended up choosing Harry Potter, and the disgusting boy named Draco Malfoy to show us.

Things got odd after that. Malfoy shot out a snake at Harry (which was admiral for a kid his age) but then Harry walked over to it hissing as it went after a second year boy. The snake seemed to listen to him, and that had to mean he was a parselmouth. That meant he could talk to snakes. Salazar Slytherin could talk to snakes. It was what he was known for. No one but Slytherin's heir could have inherited that gift. Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing. The second year boy rushed off scared, while everyone stared at him. Moments later, his two friends rushed over and pulled him away.

"Ah, well I think we will leave everything here for now," Lockhart said after a few moments of silence. "Yes, I will let you know the next date soon. You should all get going now."

We left the room quickly and headed for Tasha's short cut.

"He's a parselmouth!" I said the moment we were climbing the stairs. "But that could only mean one thing!"

"I refuse to believe it's Harry," Nick said calmly. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Could someone please explain to me what happened?" Tasha asked. "Why was everyone scared?"

"Harry can talk to snakes," I said. "That means he is a parselmouth. Salazar Slytherin was known to do that. Only Slytherin's heir can talk to snakes."

"But Harry wouldn't be dumb enough to reveal himself in front of everyone like that," Nick said. "I got the impression that he didn't understand it was a bad thing. He looked confused when that Hufflepuff ran off. He grew up with muggles remember. He probably didn't realize it was a bad thing."

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that Draco could do that spell so well?" Tasha asked.

We reached the top of the steps and paused.

"That can't be second year level. I thought we didn't conjure until at least sixth year, and he was able to do it no problem. Besides, he produced a snake. Nick is right. Harry looked so confused. He looked as if he didn't know why people were shocked. If he was Slytherin's heir, don't you think he'd hide it better than that?"

"You could be right, but there has never been a good wizard who had that gift," I said. "And Snape whispered in Malfoy's ear. So he told him to do it."

"But he was able to do it first try," Nick said. "Conjuring is supposed to be really hard. That means Malfoy is more powerful than he has let on."

"I don't think it's Harry, but if people were whispering about him before, they definitely will now," Tasha said.


	4. First Year Part Four

Tasha was right about that. The very next day, the second year boy was the next victim to be petrified and the scary part was, so was one of the ghosts. I'd never heard of a spell even affecting a ghost. Harry was spotted with them by a few classes. I wasn't sure what to think though Tasha and Nick were still insistent that it couldn't have been him. It was a bit odd that twice he'd been at the scene of the crime, and the night before, he had revealed himself as a parselmouth.

The entire school was terrified, especially because of the ghost (who turned out to be named Nearless Headless Nick) that there was a mass booking for seats on the train. Everyone was very early to leave the next day. If my parents hadn't offered Tasha to come over, I'd have begged them to let her. She couldn't stay by herself.

We ended up taking a compartment on the train with Luna Lovegood. She didn't talk much on the train ride home. She read her fathers magazine called The Quibbler while the three of us talked.

"Well, we'll know for sure it's Harry if there are attacks over the holidays," I said halfway home.

"It's not Harry," Luna said from behind The Quibbler.

"Do you think it's that Draco Malfoy boy?" Tasha asked her.

"No," she replied but she didn't say anymore.

"I still say it's Lockhart and he is framing Harry," Nick said. "It's a bit odd that it happened the day after Harry revealed himself. He knows that people are blaming Harry, so he took advantage of that. I heard that he left the classroom while everyone was reading. It would be so easy for him to petrify that kid and that ghost and then go back. Herbology was cancelled all day because there was a blizzard so he waited until he knew that Harry had his."

"But why was Harry wandering on his own? Why was he found near them?" I asked.

"But Hagrid talked to him right before it happened," Tasha said. "I was talking to Hagrid yesterday. Remember, Flitwick told me to stay behind and when Hagrid saw me on my own, he insisted he walked me to the Great Hall. I asked him his opinion and he said it was impossible for it to be Harry because Harry found them only minutes after they talked."

"Why did you wait until now to say so?" I asked her.

"I don't know," Tasha said with a shrug. "But I am telling you now. It can't have been Harry."

"So that just leaves Lockhart," Nick insisted.

We glanced over at Luna to see if she'd add to the conversation, but she stayed behind her magazine. Perhaps it was because Nick had laughed at her dress when we'd entered. It was green with red bows on it. I couldn't blame him for laughing. I'd had a hard time containing my own laughter. Tasha has given him a light slap.

"I just hope the mandrakes will be ready soon," I said. "Once they're ready, everything will be okay. Once there is a cure ready, whoever is doing it will probably stop. Besides, they probably saw who did it. They'll be able to tell everyone."

"You know that Ginny Weasley girl?" Tasha asked. "She looks so sick all the time. I think it's affecting her more than anyone. She burst into tears in the middle of class."

"I think she was friends with Colin Creevey," I said. "He's in the same house. She does look terrible. I saw her twin brothers trying to reassure her the other day. I think she's friends with Hermione Granger too. She might be worried that she's next."

"I just hope it stops soon," Tasha said. "I love Hogwarts, but the last two months have been so scary. I never expected anything like this when I came!"

"No one did, but as long as we all stick together, we should be fine," Nick said. "I think Slytherin's heir wants someone who is by themselves."

"That means you, Luna," I said to The Quibbler.

She rustled the paper but she didn't respond. I glanced at Nick who shrugged his shoulders.

When we arrived at the platform, it was to find mum and dad waiting for us.

"We're going to send your trunks ahead and then we are going to apparate home," mum said the moment we reached them. "We left your siblings at home. I just want to get you two home and it would take too long to take everyone."

"We'll see you later," I told Nick who had walked over with us. "Write to us."

"Are your parents around?" Mum asked him.

"They're over there," he pointed over to a couple standing together and was staring as us. "I should go. I'll see you two later," he said to Tasha and me. "It was nice meeting you Mr. And Mrs. Hoofer."

He turned and walked off.

"I take it you've never apparated," dad said to Tasha who shook her head. "Well, it's going to feel very uncomfortable, but it doesn't last long. Let us just send your trunk ahead, and then you'll take a hold of my arm and I will take you to our place."

"You'll be fine," I assured Tasha. "Mum and dad have done it with us loads of time."

With a wave of his wand, our trunks disappeared. Tasha looked nervous as she took a hold of dad's arm. I closed my eyes and Mum took my hand and then turned on the spot. I hated the feeling of apparition. It felt as if I were being squeezed through something very tight. Luckily it was never long though. My feet his solid ground about thirty seconds afterwards. I knew we were home before I opened my eyes because I heard my sisters and Ben's excited shouts.

Benny ran straight over to me and I held my arms. As soon as he reached me, I lifted him up. He hadn't grown much since the last time I'd seen him. He still felt quite light as well.

"Your home!" He shouted.

Brianne reached me next and she wrapped her arms around me. She had grown since we'd seen each other last. She wasn't much smaller than Brenda now, who I thought was still about the same height.

"It took forever for you to come back!" She said. "It seems so long since you left on the train."

I set Benny down so I could hug her properly.

"The time went by quick for me," I told her just as dad and Tasha appeared with a loud pop. I turned to Brenda. "Don't I get a hug?" I asked.

She sent a glare at Tasha before she shrugged and walked over to give me a quick one armed hug.

"Welcome home," she said. "Who is that?"

"Didn't mum and dad tell you she was coming?" I asked. "That's Tasha."

"I guess I forgot," Brenda said but I doubted it.

"I'm Brianne," Brianne said rushing over to hug her. "Welcome to our place. If you get tired of Barry you can play with me."

"She doesn't want to play with an eight-year-old," Brenda snapped at her.

"I'll be nine soon!" Brianne snapped.

"I don't mind hanging out with any of you," Tasha said. "I'd like to get to know all of you."

"Brenda, don't be rude," mum scolded. "Tasha, you'll be staying in Barry's room. He has an extra bed. We sent your trunk up there, but if you don't feel comfortable with that, we can put Benny in Barry's room and you can take Benny's room."

"I'm okay wherever," Tasha said.

"Why don't I take Benny's room and Tasha can take my bed," Brenda said. "Should she really be sleeping in Barry's room? She's a girl."

"So?" I asked.

"Well boys and girls don't sleep in the same room. Isn't that why Brianne and Benny can't share?" Brenda retorted.

"I'm sure it will be fine," dad said glaring at Brenda. "Tasha will sleep wherever she feels comfortable. Now kids, sit down, tell us about school so far."

"I told you enough in the letters," I said but I took a seat on the couch. Tasha sat beside me while Benny climbed onto my lap and Brianne squeezed herself between Tasha and me.

"It's better to hear it in person. Most of it anyway. You can leave a few things out," mum replied and I knew she was meaning the Chamber of Secrets stuff. "You two can tell us more about that later."

Brenda sat down in one of the armchairs. "I wish you'd tell us what's going on. At least you could tell me. I'm starting Hogwarts next year. Why can't I at least know. We all know something weird is going on at Hogwarts."

"Later," dad replied taking another armchair and he nodded at Benny.

"You promise?" Brenda asked.

"Yes," dad said. "Once the little ones are in bed."

"Why can't I know? I'll be nine very soon," Brianne said.

"I'm six now," Benny said.

"Fine, I was caught wandering around a lot during the first term," I lied quickly. "The school was talking about suspending me but mum and dad convinced them not to. It was a huge deal, but it's over and done with now."

Brianne opened her mouth to argue. She looked as if she didn't believe me but I shook my head at her quickly as Benny turned to look at mum and dad. I pointed at him. She seemed to understand because she nodded.

"Well that wasvery naughty of you Barry," she said.

"You're supposed to be setting an example for us," Brenda added who seemed to have caught on as well. "No wonder mum and dad didn't want us to know. They thought we'd copy you. Well, I won't."

"That's exactly it," dad said quickly. "So moving on from your suspension, which we've already discussed with you in the letters, tell us about everything else."

Tasha looked at me with raised eyebrows but then she grinned. Once we were both done talking about school, Benny turned to me and grinned.

"We get to still celebrate your birthday. I thought we wouldn't," he said.

My birthday was the next day. I'd finally be twelve-years-old. It seemed to be a very grown up age to me, and it was just a year from being an actual teenager. This time next year I'd be waiting to turn thirteen. I'd always enjoyed having my birthday so close to Christmas. I'd have my birthday and then a few days later it would be Christmas. So I got two days where I got to open presents. Brenda used to make a big stink out of this. She didn't think it was fair. She used to say I should have my presents all on Christmas but then I reminded her I'd get more presents. Now she no longer seemed to care.

"And then it will be Christmas!" Brianne said excitedly. "We wrote to Santa already. Did you?"

"Yes, we did that at school," Tasha answered her.

"Will Santa know to find you here?" Benny asked her. "You're here for Christmas too aren't you?"

"She's here the entire holidays and I am sure he will," mum answered. "Santa usually knows ahead of time."

"And she wrote him where she would be," I told him quickly.

"Brenda said there is no Santa," Brianne said.

"Brenda is just spiteful," I said as I glared at my oldest sister.

What had happened to her and who did she think she was telling them that? I didn't believe anymore, and I guessed she didn't either but why stop Brianne and Benny from believing?

"Well, I find it a bit silly that two Hogwarts first years still believe," Brenda said.

"Of course we do!" Tasha said while dad stood up and walked over to Brenda.

She looked up at him nervously.

"Brenda, go to your room now! You can stay there until dinner is ready."

"Fine," she said icily and she got up and stalked out of the room.

Dad ran a hand through his hair. "I really don't know what to do about her."

"I want to go talk to her," I told dad and then I turned to Tasha. "Why don't you get to know Brianne and Benny? They'll show you around."

"You can play with us!" Benny told her excitedly. "We just got a new game. It's in my room."

"I'd love to play with you," Tasha told him and she stood up, Brianne stood up too and took her hand. I set Benny on his feet before I stood up. He rushed over to take her hand as well. The two of them rushed ahead while clutching her hands. Tasha had to run to keep up with them lest they pull her.

"She seems like a sweetheart," mum said as soon as they were gone.

"She is a nice girl," I said. "Brenda still seems the same."

"She's worse," dad said. "Nothing we're doing is getting through to her. I had to spank her just last night because she slapped Benny. He wanted her to play their new board game and he wouldn't stop asking, so she slapped him. All she had to do was either tell us or just walk off but she hit him."

"Maybe the spankings are getting her angrier," mum said with a sigh to dad.

"I don't think so," dad said. "She's been this way long before we started again."

"When did you start again?" I asked.

"The day you went back to school," mum replied. "She made a big scene when Benny and Brianne chased after that train. Everyone was staring at her and then she mouth us off after dad threatened her. I apparated her home while dad drove the others back and spanked her. She's done nothing but be mouthy since."

"I'll go up and talk to her now," I said. "Though I don't expect to get through to her, but I'll see what I can do. She shouldn't be telling Benny and Brianne there is no Santa though!" I added indignantly. "It's not up to her to tell them."

I got up without an answer from my parents and left the living to go upstairs. My little sister and I needed to have a talk. When I got upstairs, I could hear Brianne and Benny shouting excitedly down the hall and Tasha was laughing. I smiled and then continued onto Brianne and Brenda's room. When I entered, it was to find that Brenda had her arms folded while she sat on her bed. She was glaring at the curtain that had Brianne's part of the room hidden away.

"What?" Brenda demanded when I entered.

"Hello to you too," I said and I walked over and sat down beside her.

"What do you want?" She pressed.

"Who do you think you are telling Benny and Brianne that there is no Santa Clause? Just cause you don't believe anymore doesn't mean they shouldn't?"

"It's one thing for Benny to, but it's odd for Brianne to," she replied. "You know, it's as she says, she is going to be nine soon!" She added the last bit in a high pitched voice as if to copy Brianne.

"You still believed until last year," I reminded her. "And you only found out after Christmas by accident. You'd probably still believe right now if you hadn't overheard mum and dad."

Brenda had walked in mum and dad talking about the gifts they'd bought Benny from 'Santa.' He'd been given a model quidditch set, and they were wondering if it had been too much. They hadn't heard her enter the room. At times I wondered if that conversation was the reason for why she'd changed. It wasn't much longer after that. It was either the discussion about me going to Hogwarts, or that. Either way, she'd changed from a sweet girl into whatever it was she was now.

Brenda just shrugged.

"It's not right for you to stop them," I went on. "They'll stop on their own time. Give it a couple years with Brianne," I said and then I remembered some of the things the kids had told me. "That being said, you need to stop being so rude to them all the time. You have no reason for it. You never used to be like this with them. They don't deserve it. Maybe then mum and dad wouldn't have to spank you."

Brenda blushed.

"They-they told you about that?" She asked and I nodded. "Well they shouldn't. I will be eleven next year. I am way too old for it!"

"Well then maybe you should act like it," I said to her. "Treating them that way isn't being very grown up. Right now, you are the oldest."

"Not like I get the benefits of it!" She said angrily. "Do I get to boss them around? No! Do I get my own room? No! We should never had Benny! If it weren't for him, I'd still have my own room!"

"I've never bossed you lot around," I replied. "Being the oldest doesn't mean you get to boss people around. I never wanted to anyway."

"Well, that is where we are different! I do want to boss them around!"

"So because you don't get what you want, you are acting like a spoiled brat? Mum and dad put this curtain up for you. Benny is here to stay whether you like it or not. You should be over by that now. He's six now."

"Remember you never wanted him either," Brenda reminded me.

"That was when I was a little kid and I got over it," I said.

"Because you got your own room. Even with the curtain I still share. The youngest shouldn't get his own room. Even if I have to share, we should get your room and you should get this one! You get the biggest room but the people who share should get the biggest room," she said furiously. "If it wasn't for Benny, we wouldn't have to deal with any of this! It's all his fault!"

"Yes, because he asked for all of this," I said sarcastically. "He wanted to be born last and he wanted his own room and he wanted the two of you to live together. He planned it all even though he was just a baby and all."

"Mum shouldn't have gotten pregnant with him. She should have stopped at Brianne!" Brenda insisted. "I hate sharing with Brianne. She still acts like a kid."

"Maybe because she is still a kid!" I said. "And next year you won't have to share with her."

"But then I'll be sharing with other girls!" Brenda said furiously. "Brianne will get the opportunity next year to be on her own but I won't! And it's all because of-"

"Stop blaming him!" I said angrily. "He didn't ask for any of this. He has his own room because he can't share with Brianne! I'm not sharing with him either. So just stop it already! You have this curtain dividing the room, so enough already! You can't take it out on them though. They didn't choose their birth order or their ages you know!"

"So everyone else gets what they want but me!" Brenda said. "You got your own room cause you're the oldest! Ben got his own room cause Brianne and Ben can't share and next year Brianne will get her own room!"

"Mum and dad sound proofed this curtain and everything," I said. "You and Brianne don't have to see each other unless you want to. Brianne even said it won't open unless it's from her side and I got the impression that she never opens it."

"I can't go on that side at all," Brenda responded, "but Brianne can come onto mine! If I try, I get blocked!"

"Well," I began feeling a little amused, "she kind of needs to enter your side of the room to get in here. The door is on your side of the room and so is the bathroom. I bet she doesn't linger either."

"Well no she doesn't, but that's not the point," Brenda replied. "Maybe we should switch sides then!"

"You insisted on being on this side when she first moved in. You wanted the door to be on your side and you wanted the bathroom too," I reminded her. "You can't just decide to switch sides after you threw that fit, even if it years later."

Brenda shrugged. "Not like it matters does it?" She asked. "I just have to suck it up like mum, dad and you are saying."

"Yes," I answered. "Do you really hate Benny that much?"

"I don't hate him. He's my brother. I just hate that everything changed when he came," she said. "And someday he probably won't be an annoying pest."

"You were once an annoying pest… well you still are, especially with this new attitude. Brianne and Benny are still little though. They're going to act like kids," I said to her. "And being mean to them isn't going to change a thing. So is this new attitude going to stay?"

"I don't know," Brenda said. "I am very angry and talking to you was fine but I don't think it's going to go away."

"But you can at least try to stop," I said.

"Probably. I don't like spankings much," she replied.

"That's kind of the whole point," I said.

"It doesn't work," she told me. "Mum and dad are wasting their time. I'm still angry with them and it makes me angrier because it embarrasses me."

It was something I'd have to mention to mum and dad. I didn't say anything to that. I just stood up.

"Well, I think you should think about our talk. And remember, you'll be at Hogwarts next September. You'll be around people your own age," I told her. "And you won't see them much. You will miss them even if you think you won't. I'm gonna go play with them now. Talk to you later."

First I was going to tell my parents our conversation, and then I'd play with them. I left her room and then headed downstairs. I didn't think our talk was going to change anything. I had a feeling she was going to keep it up anyway.

The next day we celebrated my birthday. Tasha must have schemed with Benny and Brianne and perhaps even my parents while I was talking to Brenda. When I'd gone downstairs to find them the day before, they weren't there. They were in Benny's room on one of his extra beds. I hadn't thought much about it the day before, but now I wondered about it. They had likely taken advantage of my absence to talk to them.

When I woke up, it was to find Tasha gone and my bedroom completely decorated. They had likely woken Tasha up early, and while I slept, all of them had decorated my room. Right above my bed was a streamer that said: HAPPY TWELFTH BIRTHDAY BARRY!

I sat up and got out of bed quickly. I hesitated just in case they decided to do what they did when I was little, and walk in singing. No one appeared though, so I grabbed some clothes and then went into my bathroom anyway. I didn't want anyone to catch me changing. However, no one was there when I left fully clothed.

It wasn't until I reached the kitchen about five minutes later when they all started to sing. It wasn't just my family and Tasha though. To my surprise, Nick was there too! I had just seen him the day before, but I did already miss him. On our Island was the cake and the table was already set with my favourite breakfast foods.

"Long time no see mate," Nick said who had Benny hanging off his back.

"Was this planned for long or just yesterday?" I asked as I thought about the fact that my parents had been in Benny's room yesterday.

"Just yesterday," Tasha replied and she rushed over to hug me. "Happy birthday! You're one stop closer to being a teenager than we are."

"Speak for yourself," Nick said. "Mine is in a couple months."

"So is mine!" Brianne said excitedly.

"Well, too bad we can't celebrate together," Nick said to her with a wink.

"Maybe when I go to school then," Brianne said looking very serious.

"Yes we should do that," Nick said grinning at her and then he looked at me. "They wrote to me yesterday to see and of course I wanted to. I mean, I get cake otherwise I wouldn't have."

"Right," I said rolling my eyes and I walked over to them with Brianne still hanging off my side.

Nick set Benny down and then Benny ran over to hug me.

"I've been working on your present for a month!" He told me. "Wait until you see it."

"Yes, well let's sit down and eat first," mum said. "We can open presents after and we'll eat cake later," she added as she grinned at Nick who let out a fake gasp. "So I came over early for nothing. I must go home."

Everyone started to laugh.

"You can't go home now that you're here!" Benny told him thinking he was serious. "And besides, you're sitting beside me!"

"You're a little trouble-maker aren't you?" Dad asked him but he was grinning.

I figured my parents would have liked Nick. He had a good sense of humour and so did they. Mum just smiled and pointed at one of the extra chairs beside Benny's spot. We all went to the Kitchen table, and I was given dad's chair. No matter where we ate, either the Kitchen or the Dining Room, we all had the same spots we sat at. Dad's was usually the head of the table, but the birthday child usually got to sit in his chair. It was a tradition that had been set on my fourth birthday.

I'd woken up early and I'd taken dad's seat. When he had questioned it, I'd told him that from now on, I would sit in his chair on my birthdays. Dad had found that amusing at the time, but he must have also liked the idea because he had let Brianne do the same on her birthday (in her high chair obviously) and then Brenda. Benny hadn't been around of course. Ever since then, we did that every year on our birthdays.

"You have to sit beside me," Brianne told Tasha.

"Please," mum reminded her. "And you too Benny. They might want to sit with Barry."

"Aw it's okay," Nick told her. "I'll sit with the little squirt."

"And I'll sit with Brianne," Tasha said and she smiled at Brianne.

"And can we still play with you even though you have friends over?" Brianne asked. "Please?"

"Yes, of course," I said and I glanced at Brenda who hadn't said a word except to sing to me and wish me a Happy Birthday. "And you too, Brenda."

Mum and dad insisted on serving me even though I could do it myself. Usually, it was just Benny they had to serve but they wouldn't sit down until I had everything I wanted on my plate. I think they were going a step further just because they missed me a lot while I was at Hogwarts.

"Can I come over everyday for breakfast?" Nick asked. "Usually it's just cold cereal for me at home. I've gotten used to Hogwarts."

"Nick!" I said though I knew he was joking.

"Yes you can," mum told him. "The two of you are invited anytime you want. I usually make extra in the mornings just in case. The kids usually end up eating the rest for brunch."

"I was just kidding," Nick told her with a grin. "But thanks for the offer."

"I know you were, but you are welcome to come over if you want more than cold cereal," she told him. "I'm usually not at work until later. I'm assuming you're parents must need to be at work early."

"Yes, and when dad is home it's still cereal cause he can't cook," Nick told her. "Mum makes good breakfast but she is at work at about six in the morning."

"How did you get here anyway?" I asked him. "Mum can't be apparating you here everyday."

"I flooed over. Ever hear of it?"

"Of course," I said. "I forgot about flooing for a second to be honest. So you can come visit more then right? Your parents would be okay with you visiting?"

"They aren't home anyway," he replied.

"We'll be baby-sitting this lot, but it's three on three now," I continued and then I looked to mum and dad. "He can come over more right?"

"I just said he could," mum answered. "If you'd like to come over in the mornings, just let me know honey. I'll make extra and you can always stay here all day."

"You're sure?" Nick asked. "I don't want to be-"

"I'm sure," mum told him quickly. "Both of you can come over anytime you want."

After breakfast, we went into the living-room to open my gifts. Mum and dad had bought me a Nimbus two thousand and one even though I couldn't take it to school yet. It was fine though. I could use it when I was at home and in the summer. Next year I could take it. I was planning on playing Quidditch but I could always fly for the fun of it. Nick and Tasha had both given me bags of candy, Brenda and Brianne it seemed had gotten along long enough to buy my gift together. They'd bought me a few books of my favourite comic book. The Adventures of Martin Migg, The Mad Muggle.

Benny's gift is what surprised me the most. I knew he had made it, but I was expecting just a picture. However, it was a Ravenclaw case for me to hold my quills and ink. He had made it out of Popsicle sticks, and it wasn't sloppy at all, except the drawing of the crest and eagle. At his age, I wouldn't have been able to make something like this. The glue would have been sticking out, and it would have been crooked. He'd even spelled Ravenclaw on it, though he ran out of room so the e and n was underneath Raven. The sticks were together perfectly, and it open and closed perfectly. The lid didn't come off. I was assuming he had help with the hinges.

"Mummy and daddy had to help with the hinges," he said as if reading my mind. "And they charmed it too but I did the rest. No one can open it but you. So you don't only have to put quills or ink in it. But I did everything else even the drawing."

"You can tell you did the drawing," Brenda spoke up. "It's not even in the shape of the crest."

I shot a glare at her while dad said: "Brenda," in a warning voice.

"It's amazing," I told him. "I'll definitely use this."

"How are you only six?" Nick asked him.

"Cause that's how long I've been alive," Benny told him seriously.

"But I could not have done something like that at six," Nick said.

"It's not that impressive," Brenda muttered.

"Maybe we could all go outside and fly your broom!" Brianne said excitedly.

"It's snowing out," I said as I pointed out the window.

"You can fly in the snow," Brianne replied.

"She has a point," Nick said. "They play Quidditch no matter what at Hogwarts, and it's not snowing that hard out."

"And it's the fastest broomstick yet!" Benny said jumping up down.

"If you do, just be careful," mum said. "And if you let Benny fly, please watch him carefully. You know he only just started and he's never flown in this weather."

"He'll be fine," I told mum.

"It's supposed to get worst," dad said. "So when it does, I want all of you to come back in. We're supposed to get another blizzard."

"You two make sure you bundle up very warm," mum said turning to Brianne and Benny. "I think I'll put a warming charm on your suits."

"It gets too hot when you do that," Benny said. "Please only if I get really cold. I always sweat and we will be running."

"I'll make sure he doesn't get too cold," I told mum knowing that he had a point.

"When it gets too snowy," dad reminded us.

Brianne and Benny started jumping up and down excitedly and then they ran to the kitchen no doubt to change into their suits.

"I don't want to fly," Brenda said. "I'll be upstairs."

And she turned and walked off before I could call her back. I wanted her to play with us too, but that would have to wait. So instead, I beckoned for Tasha and Nick to follow me.

"I just have to get my winter cloak," Tasha told me. "It's in my trunk. I'll be back."

"I didn't bring mine," Nick said. "But I'll be fine."

"We have extra's," mum told him. "You can't go out like that. We can charm it to keep it warm for you too. I expect you didn't bring gloves."

"No, but I could always go home and get-" Nick began.

"Not necessary," mum interrupted. "We have everything you need here. Come on. It's a shame Brenda won't go out with you lot, but she's never liked flying. I'd like for her to stop hiding herself in her room. Try to play with her while you're home please Barry."

"We'll find something for all of us when we come back in," I told mum.

Brianne and Benny were already dressed by the time we walked into the coat room. Benny was just pulling on his boots and Brianne was just pulling on some mittens.

"Mum, I'm going to see a new cloak soon," Brianne told her. "This one feels even tighter. I can't have grown that much since the last time I wore it, can I?"

"Usually I have to re-size it," mum told her. "I didn't get to it before you did this time. You're right though. We will get you a new one. You've grown a lot this year. You're almost the same size as Brenda. In fact, you could probably wear hers today if you'd like."

"No, she will just get angry with me," Brianne said shaking her head. "I don't feel like listening to her complain later. I'll wear this. It's not too tight."

"How come I don't grow?" Benny asked standing up. "I still wear last years. Am I always going to be small?"

"You'll probably be like me," I told him. "I had a big growth spurt when I was seven."

"Yes, and then you just kept growing. You've grown since we left you in September in fact," mum said and then she turned to Benny. "Don't worry sweetheart, you'll be very tall someday."

"I won't always be really small?" He asked. "Cause Sammy is taller than me and he younger."

"No, you will grow," mum reassured him. "Now Nick, we have a cloak right here," and she pulled my old one from last year down from a hook, "I may have to re-size this one too for you. It's Barry's old one and you two are about the same size. Try it on."

Nick pulled it on, and he could button it up, but it was tight and the sleeves weren't long enough. Mum pulled out her wand and began re-sizing the sleeves and then she made it slightly bigger so it wouldn't be so tight. She then turned and worked on Brianne so hers wouldn't be so tight.

"Does yours still fit properly?" She asked turning to me.

"For now," I said. "But I think I will outgrow it."

"Put it on so I can see," she said and so I did.

She began inspecting it. The sleeves felt as if they would be too small soon and I thought it had gotten a bit shorter too. I'd just gotten it last February.

"Yes, next year we will get you a new one," she said and sighed. "All of you are growing so quickly."

"Except me," Benny said sadly.

"You will soon," Brianne told him.

I understood how he felt. I'd had the same worries at his age. For a while, Brenda had been taller than me and she was a year and a half younger than me. Perhaps boys grew slowly at first in my family, but then they just kept growing and growing. I wanted to be tall, but sometimes I wondered if I would end up being too tall. I was the same height as some of the third years already. Maybe it was because I was one of the older first years.

"Don't worry mate," Nick said to Benny. "Someday you'll be taller than Barry."

"You think so?" He asked.

"I do think so," Nick said. "Now come on, let's go outside. I'm sure Barry will let you try the broom first."

Benny hurried to take Nick's hand and the two of them hurried from the coat room and out to the kitchen. Moments later we could hear the patio door opening. Tasha appeared moments later wearing her pink cloak.

"Ooh mum, can I please get a cloak like that one?" Brianne asked excitedly. "Please, pretty please with sugar on top!"

"Sure, we will go look at one together after Christmas," mum told her.

"Can Tasha come too?" Brianne asked.

"That's up to her," mum said.

"Sure, if you'd like," Tasha told her and she walked over to where her boots were. She pulled them on and then smiled at Brianne. "Ready to go out?"

"Uh huh! I think you could be a better big sister to me then Brenda is," Brianne told her as she grabbed her hand. "You've only been here a day and you're far nicer."

The two of them skipped out. I sat down to pull on my boots and then I stood up to grab my broom.

"Just make sure Benny doesn't fly to high and-" Mum began.

"Mum, he will be fine. Besides, the snow is fresh and if he falls it will be softer than in the summer," I told her. "He learned quicker than Brianne or Brenda did. He learns everything so fast. I think he is going to be smarter than me."

"I think he just wants to prove himself," mum said as we both left the coat room. "He feels he has to live up to the three of you. Brenda has been on his case more than usual, especially with the school work. I think it's her he wants to impress more than anyone. She criticizes him about everything. We've told her to stop, but even when he does something really extraordinary, such as that case for your quills, she will find something wrong with it."

"I've noticed that. I think she resents him for being born," I said. "Remember what I told you last night?"

"That's part of it but I think he makes her feel inadequate because he does everything so well," mum said. "But she never tried as hard at his age as he does and neither did you. I wish the four of you wouldn't feel as if you had to compete with each other. Anyway, you should get outside. They'll be waiting for you. I'll see about getting Brenda to help with lunch later and maybe cocoa. I think we need to involve her more, though lords know we haven't tried. She prefers to lock herself in her room with those study sheets you've sent home."

Mum patted my cheek, and then I walked over to the patio door and opened it. Brianne and Benny were showing Nick and Tasha our pool. Tasha seemed impressed that there was only a spell covering and that you could see the ice and water. No snow hit it because the charm prevented anything from getting into it during the winter, or at anytime when they had it on.

"That's amazing," Tasha said once I approached.

"I was just saying you could probably put a warming charm on it," Nick said to me. "I bet you could swim in it."

"We've asked that before," I said. "They won't do it."

"Muggles put a whole cover on theirs," Tasha told me. "And it usually gets dirty. This looks so clean."

"We used to do that too," I said. "But dad decided it was easier to learn to do it this way. We've been doing it this way for four years now."

"You've got quite the house and yard Hoofer," Nick said to me. "Your descriptions didn't do it justice."

"It isn't that big," I said as I lead the way off the deck and into the yard. "Believe me, there are places bigger. Usually wizards with money like to show off, but mum and dad went for a fair size."

"A fair size is my house," Nick said.

"They should've gone for bigger," Brianne said. "Cause I have to deal with Brenda. I can't wait until next September with her gone. I wish they'd bought a five bedroom house."

"I had a talk with her yesterday," I told Brianne.

"Won't matter," Brianne said sadly. "Mum and dad talk to her all the time. It doesn't help."

"And she hates me," Benny said.

"She doesn't hate you," Tasha said. "How can anyone hate you?"

"You'd have to ask her," Benny said. "She's always mean to me. Always has been."

"I thought it just started last year," I said. "She didn't change until last year."

"Uh uh she didn't do it when you two were around. Now she don't care," Benny said. "I can't wait until she is gone. I'll be happy. I wish you were my sister Tasha."

"Me too!" Brianne said.

"Yes well, Brenda is our sister," I said awkwardly. "Now come on, I'll let you two try the broom first."

The idea of Tasha being my sister made me feel strange and I didn't know why. Nick, Tasha and I were all close enough to be siblings but it made me feel funny to think that about her. Tasha was too pretty to be a sister. I pushed those thoughts away though and then held out the broom for Benny to try out instead.

The holidays went by quick. Nick came over almost everyday, and quite frequently he came over early enough to have breakfast with us. Neither Tasha nor Nick minded that our days was spent with Brianne and Benny. Brenda didn't join us often even though we tried to get her involved as well. Most days she just wanted to be in her room. We tried hanging out in there, or on Brianne's side to involve her but it didn't work. So usually it was in Benny's room because he had the most toys.

After dinner (which mum often invited Nick to), the kids would let us be on our own, and that's when we'd hang out in my room to talk. We didn't have anyone at Hogwarts that we could correspond with, so we didn't know much about what was happening. Though Tasha had written to Ginny Weasley who was apparently staying with her brothers to ask if anything new had happened. She'd written back that she'd let us know, but we didn't hear anything else. We weren't close to her though, so we couldn't know for sure.

We'd let Brianne and Brenda in on what was going on at Hogwarts after the first night. They had to swear not to mention anything to Benny until he was at least Brianne's age. So often the two of them asked us if we had heard anything as well.

"But why isn't it in the Prophet," Brenda asked us one rare evening when she'd decided to join us. Benny was in bed, and Brianne was doing crafts with mum.

"I don't think they want a panic," Nick told her. "Parents would probably pull their kids out."

"But shouldn't they already know?" Brenda asked. "Don't they write to their parents about it?"

"My parents didn't know until just recently," he said. "I didn't want mum and dad to panic. I was worried they'd try to make me go home. I had to swear that I wouldn't go anywhere by myself."

"Mum and dad considered that for Barry too," Brenda replied as she gazed over at me. "But what about your parents Tasha? They're muggles aren't they? Isn't that why you're here?"

"No they don't know," Tasha told her. "They don't need to know. They wouldn't understand it anyway."

"But then why are you here?" Brenda pressed. "Didn't they want to see you? I bet they do. Mum especially has been missing Barry, but dad talks about it too."

Tasha looked away from her and I could see that her eyes were shining. I'd have to explain it to my sister later, but she didn't need to know at the moment. Mum and dad must not have told the kids why she was coming. Her parents had surprisingly sent her gifts for Christmas, and a letter wishing her a Happy Christmas. It was all just muggle stuff. Some she could use, and some she couldn't. So none of the kids were suspicious. Tasha told me later that her parents were likely trying to make themselves look good, and that the 'Santa' gift was ten times better. She'd been given a stocking from 'Santa' as well.

"It was just easier for them," Nick answered quickly. "You know, it's harder for muggles and all and she lives far away. It's more convenient this way."

"Oh," Brenda said accepting this and then she stared at Tasha. "I'm sorry if I made you sad reminding you. I just wanted to know. I bet you miss them though and I shouldn't have asked so much."

That was the Brenda I missed and loved. Why couldn't she always be this way?

Tasha sighed and then she looked at Brenda and forced a smile.

"It's okay. I'd be curious too," she answered. "You know, you should come with Brianne, your mum and me when we got to Diagon Alley tomorrow. It could be a girls day and it will be fun."

"Sure," Brenda said and then she stood up. "Well, I'm going to go read now. Talk to you lot later."

"She wasn't too bad this time," Nick said after she'd shut the door.

"She was almost back to her old self," I said. "I wish she could be like that all the time."

"I think she must be insecure," Tasha said. "She seemed as sweet as Brianne can be."

"She basically admitted that, but she basically said she might not change even though she'd try," I said. "I'm hoping once she gets to Hogwarts, she will change more."

"Maybe she just needs an older girl," Tasha said. "We'll see what we can do tomorrow when we go shopping. I have some extra money from the summer. I know I should be saving, but it will be worth it. Besides, mum and dad have some baby-sitting lined up for me. They want me to pay my own way, but they also said they'd make up the difference in my letter as long as I work in the summer."

"That's nice of them," Nick said sarcastically.

"It could be worse," Tasha said. "I've learned this year to take what I can. I don't wanna cry every time parents are mentioned. They gave me presents and wrote to me. It might seem like much to you two, but it's better than what I expected."

"You should have been home," I said. "You shouldn't have to expect terrible things."

"That's the way my life is though," Tasha replied. "So I'm not going to worry anymore. Let's work on that Potion's essay now. We can't keep putting it off, and Barry, he'd love to put you in detention. You still haven't asked your parents about him."

"I'll do I before we go back," I said. "I forgot about it. I mean, there has been so much else going on since that conversation and I've been focusing on other things since we came home."

I didn't get my opportunity until after New Years. My parents were too busy planning for it, and were to distracted so I had to keep an eye on my siblings. The house was full of their friends, and our family. We were stuck with the kids, but it wasn't so bad and my older cousin Garth even came into let Tasha, Nick and me try some pumpkin juice and rum. Brianne, Benny and Sam were too distracted to notice but Brenda did notice.

"Mum and dad won't be too happy about this," she said with her arms folded.

"They won't be too happy knowing that you swore at Benny and Sam," I retorted. "In fact, dad said he'd have to use Scorgify on you the next time you did it! And you also pushed Brianne and that could mean a spanking!"

Brenda's face reddened instantly and she turned away.

"You said you wouldn't tell," she said in a low voice.

"So then don't tell on us!" I retorted. "Go play with the kids. You said you'd keep an eye on them!"

She walked off with her head down.

"That ones going to be nightmare she will," Garth said. "I'm glad I'll be out of school by her fifth."

"You'll be out of school by my third," I said. "You're a sixth year."

"And I am glad I'm not younger," he said with a grin. "Anyway, it's been tradition every year for one of the older cousins to offer a drink to some of the younger ones at Hogwarts. Now it's my turn."

To our surprise, Tasha even reached out to take a drink. She shrugged when she saw Nick and I gaping at her.

"One won't hurt and I won't lie, I am curious," she said.

"Knew you'd change your mind," Nick said grinning at her.

"Well enjoy," Garth said. "I need to get back to the real party now. Hard to believe you'll be giving those kids drinks someday," he added as he nodded over to Brianne, Benny and Sam. "You're growing up and it seems odd to me still that you're a first year. It will be stranger when they are. Sam is going to be a handful. Probably Benny too. Benny will be in second year and Sam will be in his first and they'll be driving Ravenclaw house mad."

"I'll be gone by the time Sam starts," I said glancing over at him. "But you're probably right."

"Well cheers," Garth said and then he turned to leave the room.

"That's awfully nice of him," Nick said. "And why didn't you tell us about that tradition."

"I didn't know about it," I replied. "Most of the older Hoofer cousins are all about the same age. At one time we were the really little ones that they had to watch. This room used to be full of them, but now they're all out there. Us and Sam are the youngest that are here. There are a couple around Brianne's age but they never come. Anyway, they managed to hide it and when Garth was my age I was quite young still, so I didn't notice. I noticed the older kids came in, but when your eight, you don't care about the big kids. Just as those kids don't care about us."

"So how old do we need to be before we can join the kitchen and dining room party?" Nick asked.

"At least fifth year. Maybe even fourth, but it really depends on the parents. Garth's parents let him join earlier. He isn't the youngest out there though. Remember, I have cousins in the fourth year too, and they're out there too. It will be when mum and dad decide we are old enough, but they will probably make sure we don't drink. Chester and Ralph won't be allowed to drink which is why they didn't come out with drinks. The parents will be suspicious. Ralph will be the best one for it."

"So how come everyone talks about the big Weasley family, but not all the Hoofers?" Tasha asked as she timidly sipped at her drink. "Hey, this isn't bad. You two should try."

"Well, they all have different last names," I said taking a large gulp of my own. "Besides, the Weasley's are all siblings and mine are cousins. Garth's last name is Ridge and Chester's is Walker and well- Ralph is Garth's younger brother. There are some Hoofer's going when Brianne is going, or before or after. They don't come as often, so I am not sure of their exact ages. We might get talked about in a few years once we are all there. I think there will be seven us there at the same time by the time Benny starts."

"Hogwarts will be over run of all of you have kids," Nick said. "It's going to be a Weasley and a Hoofer school."

I took another drink from the glass. It was quite good. I could barely taste the rum but I was assuming that Garth barely put any in. Nick began chugging his while Tasha continued to drink hers slowly.

"I wish he could have brought out more," Nick said as he set the empty glass down. "That was good."

"Give it some time," I said. "And maybe he'll give us some in school now."

"Why does Sam have blonde hair?" Tasha suddenly asked as she gazed at the little kids. "Most of your family has dark hair."

"He's the only one and it was odd," I said. "Dad says the blonde pops up once and a while. No one understands but it's like one kid each generation has blonde. My uncle had blonde hair I guess, but he's gone all gray now. He isn't Sam's father though, which is why it's odd. We don't know why that happens. Dad said one of us will probably end up with a blonde too."

"But he looks so much like Ben that he could be twins," Nick said. "That's the odd part. If he had Ben's hair, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart."

"A few years ago you couldn't. If it weren't for the fact that Ben was slightly bigger, we would have mixed them up because Benny did have lighter hair. We all did before it darkened," I said. "That's what Garth means though. All Sam or Ben would have to do is learn colour charms to change their hair and people could confuse them as twins when they're older. It's amazing how two cousins can so much alike. The rest of us you can tell we're related but we don't look that much alike."

"They look cute playing together, and look Brenda and Brianne are actually getting along," Tasha said. "Too bad we didn't have Monopoly here. Us five older kids could play it together. That's a muggle-"

"We have it," I interrupted. "It's a wizarding version of it. I'll go get it. Hang on. Go get Brenda and Brianne."

And I hurried out of the room and up to the steps. Some of the adults were in the foyer. I wasn't sure how they'd gotten there unless they went outside and came back in. Maybe they apparated. They greeted me as I ran past them and up the steps. I ran straight to Ben's room where the game cupboard was kept. I opened it up to see all of our board games there. We had muggle and wizarding ones, though mum and dad had charmed a lot of the muggle ones. I had suspicions that they had done the same with the Monopoly too. I found it at the bottom of the shelf and pulled it out.

When I got back into the living room, it was to find that Sam and Benny had joined as well.

"They want to help," Tasha said.

"They could probably play," Brianne said. "I was seven when I learned to play, remember?"

"Yes, because it was last New Years," I told her with amusement.

"Benny is a fast learner," Brenda said. "Although I don't know about Sam."

"I'm fast but someone has to count for me," he replied. "You roll the dice and move around the board, right? And Brianne said there is money too. I can count but not high numbers."

"It should be fine," I said. "You two can play too. It will make the game more interesting with more people."

"I've watched before so I know how to play anyway. At least, I think I do," Benny said.

"You'll be fine," Tasha said.

And so that's how we spent the night. Even when we heard the adults start the count down. We paused just to count down with them, and then shout: "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" but then we went right back to the game. Monopoly could take a long time, and Benny and Sam were doing really well. I was hoping mum and dad wouldn't make them go to bed. Usually the little ones had to go after midnight. However, when mum and dad came into look in on us, they didn't say a word. They just left again, so they must not have minded too much.

Even when people started going out, no one went to bed. Brenda was one of the first to go bankrupt, and then Sammy (who fell asleep on the floor) and it went down to until it was just Benny and me playing. I was proud of my little brother. He was holding his own and with no help. A lot of the adults were leaving by that point, including Sam's parents and family. They just picked him up and took off. Brianne looked ready to fall asleep, but she didn't want to miss the game.

"How much longer?" Mum asked as she came into the room. She sat down on the couch.

"Is the party over?" Brenda asked her looking quite sleepy herself.

"Yes, the last few people just left," dad said as entered the room. "It's almost three."

"Wow!" Brianne said sitting up quickly. "I've never been up this late, have I?"

"Nope, this is the first," Dad told her smiling.

Brianne, always a daddys girl rushed over to climb into his lap after he sat down. She laid a head on his shoulder and it wasn't long before she was asleep.

"We should almost be done," I told mum as Ben landed on one of my properties.

Nick and Tasha looked sleepy too. Brenda had her head on Tasha's shoulder by this point and her eyes looked glazed over as she stared. About fifteen minutes later, Benny landed on another one of my properties. By this point he had no money left and very few properties. He had to mortgage them but they weren't enough to cover the cost.

"And that's that," I said as Ben sighed in annoyance.

"I lost," Benny said.

"You held on for a long time," I told him.

"Okay kids, bed time," dad said as he stood up with Brianne in his arms.

"We didn't mean to stay up so late," I said as everyone stood up and stretched. "It's just Monopoly."

"We know," mum said smiling. "And it's fine. It's one night a year."

"I'm too tired to go upstairs," Benny said suddenly whiny. "I don't want to go upstairs!"

"I'll piggy back you mate," Nick told him.

Everyone made their sleepy way upstairs. It had been a fun night, and I hoped Nick and Tasha would be over again the next year.

It wasn't until the middle of the next week when I finally asked mum and dad if they'd ever had an encounter with Snape at school.

"Well he would have been first or second when I was in fifth," mum said. "And your father was sixth. We were both prefects and he was one of the ones we put in detention often. He was often with some bad kids, though he did hang out with sweet little Lily sometimes too. Maybe he still resents that."

"That and I was one of the best at Potions," dad replied. "And sometimes they get the older kids to help out in the younger classes. Snape was really good at it too. He resented it when I helped him at times because he wanted to prove he could do it himself. He thought of me as a show off, so that's probably where that comes from. He was one of the best. I do admit that, but his ego did get the best of him. Even when he was older apparently."

"Don't let him get to you," mum said. "I've heard he bullies all the students.

When it was close to the beginning of term, mum and dad began lecturing both Tasha and I about not going anywhere alone. They wanted us just to go everywhere in groups. I reminded them often that we already did that. Mum and dad were just apparating us to the station again. Brenda and Brianne hugged us tighter than they normally would. Benny didn't notice anything different, but he was sad that we were leaving again.

"The time will go quick between now and the holidays," I told him. "Don't worry."

When we got on the train twenty minutes later, we got a compartment to ourselves that time. We didn't see Luna anywhere.

"Wonder if there were anymore attacks," Tasha said. "I sure hope not. Maybe the culprit will have been caught."

"Here's to hoping that's true. Mum and dad said if there are more attacks next term they'll take me out and home school me until he or she are caught," Nick said.

"Well, maybe things will be different," I said.


	5. First Year Part Five

When we did arrive at the castle, it was to find out that Hermione Granger was in the hospital wing. A lot of people were worried that she was petrified and some purposely got injuries so they could go in and find out. However, anyone who went in there reported that she seemed to be moving around even though she was covered.

"Must have been an experiment gone wrong," Philip said who came back after Kevin had hexed him with the boil curse. "I saw her sitting there, but before I could get a good glimpse of her, Madam Pomfrey moved a curtain in front of her. I thought maybe she looked fuzzy. Probably tried to do some Transfiguration on herself. Foolish girl. That's sixth year level."

"At least we know she wasn't petrified though," Tasha said to him.

"Apparently not much happened over the holidays," Kevin told us. "Darren and Ivan both wrote to Ginny Weasley and she said nothing happened."

"We did too," Tasha said.

"So maybe whoever it was is done now," Nick said.

Nick wasn't the only one who had parents threatening to pull them out. A few of the other first years did as well. Apparently one of the Hufflepuff girls didn't even return. One of her friends told us that she wouldn't be back until after they knew the person was caught. Instead, they were hiring her a tutor for her school work. Apparently the teachers were sending her homework though, so that must have been a good sign that she'd be back.

Thankfully, things seemed to be very quiet that term though. No one heard anything and Hogwarts seemed to be back to normal. People began wandering out on their own again, though we still asked Tasha to stick by us. I was able to write home to my parents, Brenda and Brianne to reassure them that everything seemed to be back to normal, and Professor Sprout kept having good updates on the Mandrakes so that the ones petrified could be revived.

And then at the beginning of February, Hermione Granger reappeared. She seemed quite happy, so it couldn't have been anything too bad. I figured that Philip was right when he said it was Transfiguration gone wrong. She was quite smart, so she probably wanted to try advanced spells. Sometimes teachers compared her to us when we struggled.

"Well I must say, I am glad she is okay," Tasha said. "As long as she isn't petrified, who cares why she was in the Hospital Wing?"

"It's Hogwarts," Nick said. "Haven't you noticed that people like to gossip?"

"Yes, I have," Tasha answered. "I live in a dorm full of gossips. Right now all they'll talk about is- never mind."

"Talk about what?" Nick asked her grinning. "Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not," she answered. "We should work on school work."

Nick glanced at me and I shrugged. I didn't really care about what they could possibly be talking about. It wasn't even the Chamber of Secrets I cared about. Ever since the holidays, I'd been noticing how pretty Tasha was and I wasn't sure why. I'd always noticed, but for some reason it had been on my mind more than usual. The night before I had actually even wondered what it would be like to kiss her! I'd never had thoughts like this before. Was it because I was twelve now? Was is because she was a close friend that was a girl?

I didn't even know who I could ask these questions to. Somehow Nick didn't seem like the best person. What would he know about it? He'd just make fun of me anyway and what if he said something to Tasha? The last thing I needed was for her to find out! We had a Charm's essay due the next day but we hadn't been working on it. Between wondering what was wrong with Hermione, and wondering about the Chamber of Secrets, we'd gotten behind. It wasn't like us. We'd always been ahead on our school work. This essay could possibly be our first failure.

Unfortunately, I couldn't concentrate. I glanced around the common room and found my cousins. We never talked to each other school. Not really. Sometimes they'd ask me how I was doing, or to warn me to stay with my friends, but otherwise we never talked. Could I ask them about this? I didn't really want to ask Ralph or Chester. They were among a group of fourth years practicing what looked like the banishing charm. I wasn't sure why except they used to bully me years ago when they were supposed to be baby-sitting. Chances are they'd be nice about it, but I wanted someone serious, so that just left Garth.

"I gotta go talk to Garth for a second," I said to Tasha and Nick. "See what you can do with this essay and I'll be back. We really shouldn't leave things to the last minute anymore."

"I've been saying that since we got back," Tasha said. "We were fine last term, but this term we've slacked off. At least it's only February. We still have time to fix our marks. We need to do Astronomy next though. Don't take too long."

I nodded and walked over to Garth. He was sitting on his own. I wasn't sure where his friends were. Usually he was surrounded by a group of sixth and seventh years. He was alone at his table littered with bunched of parchment. There was a folded piece that had a heart on it and Lockharts name on it.

"You didn't make this did you?" I asked disgusted. "You don't fancy Lockhart do you?"

"Of course not," he said. "Probably left by Penelope although I suspect she is dating Weasley. I walked in on them in one of the secret corridors last week."

"Weasley? He's in second year," I said stupidly as I thought about Ron.

"No, perfect Percy. She's the only one who can stand him. Dunno how Fred and George are related to him," Garth answered. "Have a seat. This is odd. You never talk to us at school."

"Neither do you," I said. "Except to tell me to be a good little boy."

"I just want to look out for you, but I've got too much to do. NEWT level is hard. You're lucky you're a first year," he said with a sigh. "I haven't even talked to Ralph this year… well I never do anyway. He's a little pest. I'm starting to think he's an older version of your sister, Brenda. He's always on my case about doing school work when it should be the other way around."

"He's different from what I remember," I said. "Him and Chester used to be great bullying gits. I didn't want to ask them about this," and I hesitated. Could I really bring this up to him?

"They can be still sometimes," Ralph said. "So spit it out little cuz. I won't laugh whatever it is."

So I sighed and then launched into the thoughts I'd been having since the holidays.

"But I don't actually fancy her," I ended.

"It's normal," Garth answered quickly. "Soon enough you're going to want to snog every girl you see. You hang out with Tasha everyday. I wanted to know what it was like to snog Daphne in my second year!"

"But she's our cousin!" I said with disgust.

"I know. Be glad it's your friend you are thinking this about," Garth said with a grin. "But she was in her fourth year and I was this hormonal twelve-year-old kid. That's all it is by the way. She was just this fourteen-year-old girl who was always hugging us, especially me because I was the youngest at the time. I never ever told anyone, not even Ralph when he asked me the same question two years ago. I felt so wrong about it but thankfully I came to my senses and realized that it was my cousin. Couple weeks later, it was Penelope I was thinking about," and he made a face at that.

"She's pretty though," I said.

"Annoying though," Garth said. "Guess it's why her and Percy Weasley make a good match. Don't worry about your thoughts. It's perfectly normal to notice cute girls. You'll end up making your way through all the girls in your year no doubt."

"So why is Penelope making that for Lockhart then?" I asked as I pointed at the folded piece of parchment. "And he's a teacher too. What does she expect to happen? 'specially if she's got a boyfriend."

"Valentine's Day I expect. The girls go crazy this time of year," Garth said with a shrug. "All the girls fancy him, or most of them do. So they are probably all sending him those cards. This time of year is when people send cards to each other you know."

"I didn't even realize it," I said. "Never gave the day much thought before. I know mum and dad usually do something, but I otherwise I've never cared."

"Give it a few years," Garth laughed. "But you just wait. On Valentine's Day, it's going to be crazy around the corridors. Girls giggling, and blokes acting all strange. They'll all be expecting a date to Hogsmeade."

"Right," I said not wanting to talk about Hogsmeade.

Only people in third year and over were allowed to go there.

"Well, I should get back to my school work. We got behind with all this Chamber of Secrets stuff. So we're trying to catch up," I said standing up. "Are your parents worried about it? Mum and dad never said."

"They just tell us what yours told you. Don't go anywhere on your own," Garth answered with a shrug. "Don't be a stranger little Barry."

On Valentine's Day, it was to find that Garth was right. When we entered the Great Hall, it was the find the whole hall decorated in pink flowers. There was pink heart shaped confetti falling from the ceiling. I froze and Nick, who was behind me walked right into me.

"What the-?" He asked as he moved to stand around me. "Why?"

"Guess Hogwarts makes a big deal out of Valentine's Day," I said. "That's what Garth said anyway."

"It's normally not like this," someone said from behind us, and we turned to see it was the Weasley twins. I wasn't sure who had spoken. They were identical down to last freckle. The boys both looked disgusted as they looked around.

"Normally people get all gushy but this has never happened," one of the twins said.

"Bet it was Lockhart," the other one added.

"Let's go," Nick said and we moved onto the Ravenclaw table.

Tasha was already there, and oddly enough, she was getting along with Gretchen for once. All five girls were all giggly. Even Luna who I never thought would was blushing slightly as my eyes fell on her. She was actually quite pretty, even if she was weird. Our fellow dorm mates looked as disgusted as I felt. Philip even had his mouth opened.

We soon found out that it was Lockhart who was behind this. Apparently Penelope wasn't the only one to send him a Valentine's card. Apparently forty-five others had as well. He announced this and when he did, Tasha glanced down at her plate blushing almost as red as some of the hearts falling around us.

"You sent one too, didn't you?" Nick asked her.

"So what?" She asked and she began eating, not even caring that some of the confetti was landing in her food.

That wasn't his only surprise. He was going to send dwarves wearing gold wings and harps around to deliver Valentine cards. None of the teachers actually looked happy about this. Snape especially looked annoyed when Lockhart mentioned that he'd be able to whip up a Love Potion for anyone who wanted one.

"Not likely," I said as I wiped some of the confetti off my eggs. "It's banned from Hogwarts first of all and secondly I bet Snape would curse the first student who asked."

"Who are you going to send a card to Hoofer?" Darren said. "Going to send one to Layla?"

Layla was an unpleasant looking girl in Slytherin. I glanced over and then made a face.

"No, but I expect you will since you thought of her. You work together in Potions," I said.

"Only cause Snape makes us," he replied. "But I know you're jealous."

"Nah, I was one of the forty-six to send a card to Lockhart," I answered.

Kevin began to laugh and spit out some eggs which made the girls all yell out in disgust.

"You're all awful!" Gretchen said. "And this a serious day!"

"You won't even get any cards," Philip said.

"Neither will you!" Gretchen snapped.

"I'd get one before you do. You look Layla look pretty," he retorted.

"You are so mean!" She snapped.

"See what I mean about people going crazy on this day?" Garth asked me as he walked past.

"He's right," Nick said. "Let's get to class. Can't believe I actually want to get to History of Magic, but I don't think I can handle being in this room much longer."

Throughout the day, the dwarves came into our classes to deliver Valentine's. The girls would burst into high pitched giggles whenever this happened. The teachers meanwhile weren't too happy about it. To my surprise, by the end of the day I ended up with seven anonymous Valentine's. I hadn't sent any out because there wasn't anyone I fancied. Most of the people in my house and year did get something. Gretchen was the only one who hadn't gotten one. Luna had received two anonymous ones though she told Tasha she thought they were pranks. I wasn't so sure about that. If they were fake, then Gretchen probably would have gotten one too.

We all compared them that night at dinner.

"Look at that," Philip said to Gretchen. "Three different from cards."

"How come none of these girls wrote their names?" Nick asked as he looked through his. He'd gotten two. "Why are they all unsigned. Did anyone get signed ones?"

"It's embarrassing to admit you think someone is cute though," Tasha said. "No one signed ours either."

"Did you send one to anyone in this house?" Nick asked her.

"I only sent the Lockhart one," she said. "There isn't anyone I find cute."

"But you find teachers cute? You don't find anyone our age cute?" I asked her.

"Nope. Do you?" She asked.

"I notice cute girls," I replied. "I thought everyone did."

"Normal people do," Ivan said. "Why would you want some old guy?"

"I don't want him but he is handsome. If there was some young cute girl teacher all the boys would notice her," Tasha said. "You can deny it all you want, but it's true. Just cause you find someone cute doesn't mean you actually fancy them. I mean none of us actually expect to get with Cedric do we? But we all know he's cute too."

"Cedric?" Darren asked her.

"The handsome Hufflepuff fourth year," Katrina said with a small smile on her face. "I sent him one. I bet he got the most Valentine's out of all the blokes!"

"Who got the most out of us?" Kevin asked. "I got three."

I felt embarrassed when I realized that out of all us I got the most. Everyone else had gotten two or three. Katrina had gotten the most out of the girls. She'd gotten five, but otherwise the average number was three. Why had I gotten so much out of everyone? I didn't even talk to the girls in my own house and year let alone the rest of the houses. I still didn't know most of their names in the other houses.

"Why did you get the most?" Gretchen asked with irritation. Likely still bitter over the fact that she'd gotten none.

"Isn't it obvious?" Luna who didn't speak too much asked. And if she did, it was to mention something odd. Maybe she was going to say something weird now. Perhaps she'd say I'd been hit by Cupid's arrow or something. Everyone else was staring at her too as if expecting her to say something barmy as well.

"Why is it obvious?" Nick asked taking the bait.

Luna suddenly blushed and smiled. She was acting like a real girl for once.

"Well," she finally said after a minute or so. "You're one of the best looking in the year."

And then she set her fork down, got up and walked off. Everyone stared after her baffled.

"She is barmy," I finally said. "Best looking in the year? You don't think she fancies me do you?"

Noticing she was cute was one thing, but I didn't want her to think we might date someday. Why would she say I was the best looking though?

"Ha! You and Looney Lovegood!" Nick said and started to laugh hard.

"She has a point though," Katrina said blushing as well.

"You've got quite the ego," Tasha said to me. "Just cause someone thinks you're good-looking, it doesn't mean they fancy you."

"But why else say that?" I asked. "I'm just confused is all."

"Boys are so clueless," Samaira said with a sigh.

"You don't know the half of it," Tasha muttered.

"Come, let's compare our cards," Katrina said standing up. "Maybe we can see if the same person sent them and then we can look at other boys handwriting. Come with us Tasha!"

"Great," Gretchen muttered, but she stood up when the other three girls did and left.

"She's right," I said once they were gone. "I am clueless. I am so confused right now."

"I wouldn't think about it too much," Nick said and he stood up to. "We should get going. Snape was in a bad mood and if we hand in an assignment late again, he'll lose it. I don't know what's gotten into me lately."

"I know what you mean," I said as I too joined him. "I'm not going to make prefect if I keep this up."

"Right because they care about that in first year!" Kevin called after us as we left.

"From now on, we need to do school work before anything else," I told him. "Even if Slytherin's heir petrifies everyone but us. I want to be prefect and Head Boy. I don't care what anyone says. They watch you from first year on."

"I just don't want to fail out first year," Nick said. "Imagine doing first year again next year?"

"No," I answered without hesitation. "Being in the same year as Brenda? No way!"

After that though, we had absolutely nothing to distract us. So I was able to bring my marks back up again. We were getting along more with our housemates, so at times when Nick or Tasha thought I was too intense, they would hang out with the others. Tasha still hated Gretchen but she liked Katrina and Samaira well enough. She would also talk to Luna as well. Nick would go hang out with the blokes, though at times the four of them would come over to try and distract me.

Garth was right when he said I'd notice other cute girls. I was noticing them all the time. Even the ones in the older years I noticed. There was a very pretty girl in the third named Cho Chang who I thought was one of the prettiest I'd seen yet. At times when I'd be gazing around the common room, and my eyes would fall on her. What would she be like to kiss? Would she even want to snog me? I was a first year after all. She was in the third year, but I was one of the older ones so I was probably actually just a year younger than her.

"Why are you staring at that third year?" Tasha once asked when she caught me at this.

"Oh I dunno," I said looking away. "I was just trying to think of the spell to turn anything into a small vial. I was staring off into space."

"Right," Tasha said.

"Think those seven Valentine's are getting to his head," Nick said laughing. "You were staring at that pretty third year girl."

"No I wasn't," I said feeling my cheeks warm up.

"She's cute but she won't look at a first year," Nick said. "You're just an ickle firstie to her. Doesn't matter if you're apparently the best looking in our year."

"You're just jealous," I said. "I bet Gretchen or Layla sent you a Valentine. Maybe both."

"Who cares?" Nick asked. "A girl finds me cute. What if only trolls sent you yours?"

"You are both ridiculous," Tasha said with exasperation.

"You started it," I told her.

"No I didn't," she said. "Ugh, sometimes I wonder why I'm best friends with two boys."

"Because you love us," Nick said to her.

"I knew there must be a reason," she said. "But seriously, you don't actually fancy that girl do you?"

"No," I said. "I wasn't looking at anyone. Professor McGonagall wants to make sure we can turn anything into a small vial. She said we should be able to do it by exams. What if it's on our exams?"

"It's not even the end of the term yet," Nick told me. "Relax."

"It is in a week," I reminded him. "And I need to make up for my lapse in judgment. I can't have bad marks in any classes. There have been no more attacks, so I've had no excuse. Whoever was doing it just wanted to scare people, but they seem to be done now. Thankfully they stopped and no one was killed."

Nick rolled his eyes. "You need to relax mate. You'll get top of the year. Don't worry. I can visit over the holidays again can't I?"

"Of course," I replied. "Unless you don't leave me alone. You may have to eat cold cereal then."

"Nope, your mum said I'm welcome anytime, but I'll go see what the guys are doing. Wouldn't want to distract Hoofer from becoming Head Boy even though that's a long time from now."

"Should probably cover of Cho Chang too then," Tasha muttered.

I sighed. I'd have to be careful the next time I looked at pretty girls. I couldn't wait until they started to notice cute people as well. I'd bother them about it too.

Mum and dad didn't seem as reassured as we were about Slytherin's heir. They thought it was very odd that whoever it was had suddenly stopped, and they thought we should be on our guard when we returned after the break.

"But what if they're never caught?" I asked. "Am I supposed to spend the next six years on guard? Maybe whoever it was got scared and stopped. Maybe they realized it was wrong and stopped."

"We just worry that it could be a plot to get You-Know-Who back," mum told me. "They're just holding off because people were getting suspicious. Please dear, at least until the end of the school year, just stick together. I'm sure Dumbledore is combing the castle for the Chamber."

"But no one has found it yet," I reminded her. "Not even Dumbledore. Why should be now? Maybe it's something only the heir of Slytherin can see."

"Well, we're hoping the teachers are on the watch as much as possible," dad said. "They are probably watching for any suspicious activity. It's just until the end of the year. We just find it a bit odd after what we learned last year and now all this. Just be on the look out is all."

"Didn't realize I'd have to scared everyday once I started school," I muttered as I left the room.

It really was annoying. I hoped the person would be caught. I was tired of being scared that we could be petrified at any given moment. I was tired of being worried for my friends everyday. I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be a safe place. It was supposed to be one of the safest places, and yet it wasn't. Last year there was some teacher trying to steal from the school, and this year someone was trying to kill off muggleborns and my parents thought it was linked to You-Know-Who.

I joined Tasha, Brianne and Benny. The three of them were playing some match game. If anything, I wanted it to stop before my siblings started. Benny and Brianne didn't need to be scared all the time. I wanted them to keep that innocence they had for as long as they could. I didn't want them to feel scared they could be killed at school. Why couldn't people just accept muggleborns? Tasha was a Witch. She could do magic, so that meant she was a Witch!

The Easter holidays went by quickly. The teachers had set us a load of homework to get through for our time off. When Philip had complained during a Transfiguration class right before we went off, Professor McGonagall had looked at him sternly.

"Exams are coming up very soon Mr. Brestig. You still cannot do most basic switching spells. I'd practice if I were you," she'd told him.

"Well, I would if I were staying at Hogwarts," he'd retorted getting himself detentions for when we got back.

We couldn't practice of course, but we did work hard on our school work. Brenda often joined us and though I was impatient about it, Tasha had no problem with her being there. It was Tasha who showed Brenda what she'd be learning more than I did. Sometimes Nick would as well, but I had no patience for teaching. I just wanted to get my school work done.

"It's going to be forever before I go," Benny said to me right before I was about to leave. "It takes forever when you're gone. I still have five years! I wish I could go earlier. I hate having my birthday in September. If I'd been born in August I wouldn't have to wait."

"Believe me, I know the feeling. Think how I feel with a birthday in December," I told him. "But want to know the best part about having your birthday after the cut off date? You get to do everything before everyone else. You get to be a teenager first and you'll be of age in sixth year. That means you won't have to wait to apparate! We are better off mate, trust me."

"No one ever complained about having late birthdays in primary school you know," Tasha told me.

"Well they'd be used to it," I said. "You all started when you were little kids. We wait until we're eleven and if you're not eleven by September first, you don't get to go until the next year. It just feels like a long time even though you are actually eleven when you start. Think about how Katrina must feel. Her birthday is September second."

"I know," Tasha said dryly. "We had to listen to her complain all of September that she should have already been in school. That's what I mean. You're eleven when you start. You're not actually waiting a year. It just seems like it."

"I know, but wizarding kids don't go to primary school," I answered. "And for Benny, he has his birthday the end of September."

"Do you think I'll have friends?" Benny asked me. "Right now it's just Sam but he won't be going until a year after me. What if I go a whole year with no friends?"

"I'm sure you'll meet friends," I said. "I met Tasha on the train and Nick the first night. The three of us were friends the next day."

"I bet Brenda doesn't make friends," Benny replied. "She's too mean."

"I'm sure she will," Tasha said but I wasn't so sure.

I had a feeling Benny was right. Brenda would have a hard time meeting friends. What if she tried to hang out with me?

"All four of us will live together again," Benny said excitedly.

"We do now," I said confused.

"Not full time. You're at school and Brenda will next year. Mum and dad said it, not me. They said they miss having us all under the roof full time and it will never be the same. But for the four of us, we will all be together at school in the common room," Benny explained.

"If you're all in Ravenclaw," Tasha said. "Surely it's not set in stone."

"Well no, we just assume that. We've had people in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff too. Actually maybe even Slytherin but it's more common that we are Ravenclaw," I answered. "But maybe Brenda will change things."

"Maybe I will be the one to change things," Benny said excitedly.

"You don't want Ravenclaw?" Tasha asked him shocked.

"I just wanna go to Hogwarts. I don't care what house I am in. Mum and dad say it's not the house but who you are. Not everyone in Slytherin is bad, and not everyone in Hufflepuff is a pushover. It's all about the individual and not the house," Benny explained.

My parents had certainly said that a few times. I imagined they'd talked to Brenda about it recently and Benny had listened in. We'd had that conversation last year. The Hufflepuff's were nice and all, but I was scared I wouldn't be taken seriously there. So I hadn't wanted to go even if I knew I wouldn't hate it too much. I also didn't want Slytherin because I'd only heard bad things about them. It was either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw but I wanted Ravenclaw the most. Mum and dad had talked to me more than once about it.

"I take it Brenda has been worried about it then?" I asked Benny to confirm this and he nodded.

"But it's not just cause mum and dad say it," he replied. "I really believe it too. Not one entire house can be bad. And not one entire house can be just pushovers and we know a lot of Hufflepuff's and they aren't pushovers. I just don't care where I go."

"It's a good attitude to have," Tasha told him. "I hope you still feel the same way when you start your first year."

"We may even ask you about it," I told him.

Benny grinned. "Well, ask away big brother."

"I will little brother," I responded laughing.

We were apparated back to the station again. Mum and dad didn't want to waste time with the car again. They said we'd only do that on the first day of school, although things could change when Brenda started. Once there were more of us going, they would likely drive and plus with Brianne and Benny being so young, they wouldn't want to leave them home alone.

Third term started off with all the teachers wanting to do review of everything we'd done so far. They wanted us to be as prepared as possible for our exams. That was all except Lockhart. We were still reading from his books, and not learning anything we needed to. I felt that we were going to be a year behind and I hoped that our next teacher wouldn't be an idiot. I didn't know what would happen to Lockhart, but the Defense teachers never last a year.

I was only passing his class because I'd learned that we just needed to learn everything about him to pass tests. I hated having to learn about the idiot but I wasn't going to fail either. I'd had to convince the other blokes in my year to study otherwise they'd be in the first year again for Defense. I think most of them were just passing his classes.

Shortly into the beginning of the term, a Qudditch Match was taking place. I'd planned to skip it to study. It was just Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. I had missed the last few if they weren't Ravenclaw. However, my dorm mates convinced me that it wouldn't hurt to miss one day.

"Come on mate," Ivan said to me. "You're going to pass every exam with flying colours. Relax for one afternoon. You won't pass if you're overly stressed."

"I guess it won't hurt," I said. "If I go though, you have to do Lockharts homework with me. It's only fair."

"Yeah that's a great trade off," Darren said sarcastically. "We're making you have fun and you're making us do that gits work."

"Take it or leave it," I said but I put down my quill and joined them.

Tasha had already taken off with Luna, so I walked down with the boys. They were making bets on who would win the match. When they asked me I shrugged and then said Gryffindor. They had Potter after all and he was one of the best Seekers. I'd only seen the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff play and the Hufflepuff Seeker hadn't been very good. They had lost the match.

"But Hufflepuff will be determined to beat Gryffindor this time," Philip said. "I was talking to May and she was saying that they are determined to end their losing streak. They haven't won in so long."

"Have to be twenty years or so," I said. "Slytherin won for so many years and then it was Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had a few good years."

"I think I heard it was Slytherin seven years in a row," Nick said. "But I'm not sure because they had Charlie Weasley for years, and he was almost as good as Harry."

We found the girls all sitting together, though Luna sat a little away from them. Tasha had said the girls had hidden more of her stuff again. I wondered why they would do that. Yes, she was an odd girl but that was no reason to hide her things. Apparently she'd been getting desperate since the end of the school year was coming and she needed them back.

The game didn't start however. The teams all went out to the middle of the pitch to get started when Professor McGonagall ran out into the middle of pitch with a megaphone.

"This match has been cancelled!" She called into her megaphone.

All around us people began booing.

"What did you do Hoofer? Call in a bomb threat?" Ivan asked me. "Couldn't handle not doing homework for one morning?"

"What's a bomb threat?" I asked while Tasha told him that wasn't very funny.

One of the Quidditch players, Oliver Wood I believed looked as if he was trying to change her mind but she ignored him. She continued while everyone shouted.

"All students are to make their way back to the house common rooms, where there Heads of Houses will give them further information! As quickly as you can, please!"

Everyone began moving quickly and I noticed Luna wasn't moving. I rushed over to her.

"Luna come on!" I said and I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"It's been another attack," she said looking more paler than usual.

"That's why we need to go. What are you doing just sitting there?" I asked as I pulled her over to the first years who were waiting.

She sent Gretchen a glare who was smirking at her. I glared at Gretchen too. Luna was probably right. It was likely another attack. Why else was Quidditch canceled? They wouldn't even stop it for bad weather. Gretchen just shrugged and then hurried forward to join her friends where they walked off giggling together. I didn't let Luna go until we were in the castle, but I made sure she was behind us at all times.


	6. First Year Part Six

In the common room, Flitwick was already waiting for us. We all sat down around the common room as he was standing in the middle. Tasha, Nick and I sat at our usual table.

"What do you think this is about?" Tasha whispered.

Before we could answer, Flitwick took a deep breath.

"There has been another double attack," he said. "A Gryffindor second year and one of our own Ravenclaw's Penelope Clearwater were found together. They are currently in the Hospital Wing. Now that being said-"

"Please sir," a second year boy Michael Corner I believed said raising his hand. "But which Gryffindor second year?"

"Hermione Granger," Flitwick answered.

"Two muggleborns," Tasha whispered fearfully.

"We have these rules in place until the culprit is caught," Flitwick continued. "All students are to return to their common rooms by six in the evening. There will be no more extra curricular activities which includes Quidditch training and all clubs. You are not to use the bathrooms outside the common rooms without accompanied by a teacher. You will be led to every class by your teachers."

"But I thought the attacks were done!" Some girl shouted. "Why start now?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Ms. Freen. However, if the culprit isn't caught then the school likely will be closed," Flitwick answered.

Nervously, I raised my hand and felt every eye on me as Flitwick addressed me.

"Are you writing our parents?" I asked him. "Only I told mine I'd let them know if there was another attack."

I hoped people weren't going to laugh at the silly first year for asking this. However, no one laughed. They all looked to Professor Flitwick to see what he'd say. Perhaps they were all wondering the same thing.

"Yes, Mr. Hoofer. I'm leaving to do that right now. They may want to take you home before another attack, and we'd like to give them that option. If anyone does know anything," he added and he looked to this sixth years now as he said this. "Please come forward. Ms. Granger and Ms. Clearwater were found with a mirror. Would any of you know why that is?"

But no one answered. They all look as confused as the rest of us. Why would they need a mirror? Were they trying to peer around corners to see if they could see Slytherin's heir before he saw them? That was the only thing that made sense. So I put my hand up to suggest this, not feeling as nervous as before.

"That is what we are thinking Mr. Hoofer," Flitwick said with a nod. "But we are trying to find any answer at the moment. For now, we just need all of you to follow our precautions. I do hope that the person is caught. There may not be a Hogwarts to return to even next year if that's the case. I'll come back if we know more."

"What happens if Hogwarts closes forever?" Tasha asked.

"Parents can home school," I said. "But there are other schools. Smaller schools, so I imagine we'd all be sent there. There are some day schools for parents who do not wish to send their kids here."

"My parents would just home school me," Nick said. "But I hate to think we won't ever be back."

"I don't want to be home permanantly," Tasha said sadly.

"Don't you think your parents will be worried about all this?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said. "But things at home still won't be good. And now I'm a year behind in muggle school, but I don't want to go back to muggle school."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," I told her. "My parents would probably hire a tutor like they do already but with magic. You could learn with us. Or maybe I'd just go to a day school. They need someone full time next year anyway with Brenda leaving. The tutor isn't around all day, and they won't want Brianne and Benny to be home all day alone that long. They don't mind having Brenda looking after them for a couple hours on her own but all day? Maybe with all of us home it will be easier on them."

"They might catch the culprit though," Nick said. "Let's not worry until we have to. Let's just get the others over here. We might as well do Lockharts stupid assignment."

Things only got worse from there. We heard that not only Dumbledore was taken from the castle but for some reason The Ministry suspected Hagrid and he was taken to Azkaban. We found this out the morning we returned to classes. We were supposed to be switching a mouse into a snuffbox in Transfiguration (something that might come up on our exam) but when we heard this and Nick missed his mouse. Instead he hit the case Benny had made me. It turned all silver.

"Hagrid's in Azkaban?" Nick asked not noticing. "But he would never! He couldn't even hurt a fly! He doesn't know enough magic anyway! They are just going after anyone now!"

"And suspending Dumbledore?" I asked trying to change my quill case back. "They made a huge mistake with that one. I mean, I'm sure McGonagall and the other teachers are powerful but without Dumbledore? What are we supposed to do?"

"I bet they are just arresting people to make it look like they are doing something," Tasha said sadly. "I mean, I was mistaken about Hagrid. I was scared of him at first but I've talked to him so much this year. He would never ever hurt a muggleborn. At least people have stopped blaming Harry though."

Most people were shocked to find out Hermione Granger had been petrified but it did clear Harry's name. Everyone knew that he would never hurt her. That would be the same if someone accused Nick or me have ever hurting Tasha. It just would never happen. He'd been down in the Quidditch Pitch when it happened though.

"There's something I don't understand though," I said as I made headway with turning my case back to normal. "Hagrid was expelled from school. Is that why they took him? Do you know why he was expelled Nick? Mum and dad never said. I just know he got expelled in his third year."

"I asked my parents the same thing. They said knowing him, he brought some dangerous creature to school. There are rumours he had a dragon here last year. The Slytherin's say that anyway. I dunno if it's true but he does like dangerous creatures," Nick answered. "Dad said that likely a lot of the dangerous creatures in the forest are from Hagrid."

"And so they think he brought something to school that is attacking people now?" Tasha asked. "It's silly because he could have hurt me anytime. I talked to him plenty of time without you two."

"And plenty of others, including Hermione!" Nick said furiously. "This isn't right and I can't even write home about it because we have to be followed everywhere!"

"Have your parents even written back yet?" I asked him finally getting the case back to normal. I decided to put it in my bag to protect it for the time being. "You said if there was another attack, they'd pull you out. Mine wrote this morning. Said to do as the teachers say."

"Not yet," Nick said moodily.

The mouse he was supposed to be Transfiguration suddenly ran off between his fingers. Perhaps it could tell he was angry because mine and Tasha's weren't moving much. Nick didn't even bother to try and get it back. Professor McGonagall saw it running around, and using her wand, she summoned it and brought it back over to him.

"Try not to lose him again ," she told him.

"Why did take Hagrid to Azkaban ma'am?" Nick asked her. "He'd never hurt anyone!"

"They felt they needed to do something," she replied but I could tell by the furious look on her face that she disagreed with his arrest too. Nick must have noticed as well.

"But you disagree too, Professor?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter what I think," she told him. "You should work on switching your mouse Nick. You're still behind in this class."

And she walked off before he could say anything else. He continued to try and switch his mouse, but he was too angry to be able to do anything. In fact, I seemed to be the only one out of us three who could do it perfectly. I didn't point this out today. Normally I did, but I knew neither of my friends were in the mood for it.

Mum and dad must have told Brianne and Brenda about the latest attack because they were writing almost everyday. It was frustrating because I couldn't write to them back half the time. We weren't allowed to go anywhere alone, so I couldn't get to the owlery if Hooty wasn't around. I wrote to them in my next letter and told them to make sure they sent it when I was in the common room. Nick did the same when his parents finally got back to them. They weren't going to pull him out because exams were so near, but once they were over, he was going home unless Slytherin's heir was caught.

"And they said I probably won't be back next year," Nick said sadly. "But that might be the case for everyone won't it?"

"I've asked Garth and they haven't seen anything at all on their patrols," I said. "The teachers are trying to check every secret passage but nothing has come up. Whoever this person is, they are really smart. I just don't get how they can go so long without being detected."

"Well, it's probably why they took forever to do another attack," Tasha said. "Waited until everyone, even the teachers had their guard down again. Maybe you are right. Maybe it was Lockhart. Look how well he tried to distract everyone, and then he was going on about how the person knew was going to catch them. And I heard he wasn't even outside during that match! I'd hate to think someone so handsome would do that!"

"Right cause looks have anything do with it," Nick said rolling his eyes. "It could only be someone ugly. Let's accuse Layla or Gretchen then."

"He just doesn't seem the type to be evil," Tasha said. "But who else could it be? I reckon you two are right because this happened when he started here. Do you think we should tell the teachers our idea? We have Snape next. Maybe we could tell him."

I didn't really want to talk to Snape, but to take the sad look off of Tasha's face, I agreed. I didn't know why except I still hated to see girls cry. So at the end of class, which we'd been lectured on what we might see on our next exam, the three of us remained behind.

"You tell him though," I said. "He hates me and I don't feel like dealing with him and his comments."

"Fine, but you two just stay with me and just fill in please if I miss something," she said.

So we made our way to his desk as he was packing up.

"You three should be gone. You can't be wandering on your own," he snapped. "You were supposed to go with Lockhart."

"It's about Lockhart," Tasha said shyly and then she explained everything that we'd been thinking. Nick filled in when she forgot something. I kept my mouth shut because I could bet he'd say I was trying to show off or something.

"I can understand your suspicions," he said. "But Lockhart doesn't have the brains or ability for that. He's nothing but a show off fraud. He wouldn't even know where to begin."

"But he's done so much in his books," Tasha said and she flushed as Snape looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"And I thought you were one of the smart ones," he said. "He says he's done that. I shouldn't be telling you this, but Lockhart is known for his memory charms. That's all I'll say for now. The three of you I'm sure can figure it out from there. Now come, I need to get you to your next class. I wanted to prepare but-"

"I can take them," we heard and I turned to see it was Garth. The sixth years were slowly filling the room.

"I'll be quick," Garth assured him. "I need to talk to my cousin anyway and if I can patrol the corridors on my own, surely I can take three first years to their next class."

"Go on then," Snape said with annoyance. "But no more than ten minutes or ten points from Ravenclaw."

"Come on you three," Garth said and he beckoned for us to follow.

He waited until we were in corridor before he looked at us curiously.

"What was that about?" He asked.

We quickly explained what we'd suspected about Lockhart, and how we thought it was best to warn a teacher about it. All we wanted was just for the person to be caught. We didn't want Hogwarts to close.

"We thought that too," Garth said surprising me. "It seemed odd. We thought it was Harry too, but we were wrong about that. He would never attack Hermione Granger."

"We knew he wasn't," I said. "He wouldn't attack muggleborns when his best friend is one. That would be the same if I attacked someone for being muggleborn but I'm friends with Tasha."

"Yes but you have to admit that it was suspicious that he kept being caught at the scene," Garth responded.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked as we paused outside Lockharts door.

"Nothing, I just knew Snape didn't want to take you, and you lot didn't want to go with him. He's been in a foul mood more than usual," Garth said. "And even ten minutes from his class is nice."

Garth waved good-bye with a smile, and then he walked off. We entered the classroom and Lockhart barely noticed. He just continued to read from his book while we took our seats. I found this a little odd. Three students had been late, and at the moment, we weren't supposed to be alone. Didn't he care that we might have gotten attacked? Didn't he even notice we weren't all there when he picked us up from Potions?

I scribbled this down on a piece of parchment and showed it to Nick and Tasha. They both nodded. They weren't convinced by Snape either. Snape actually had me thinking. Lockhart was good with memory charms. He'd managed to fool a lot of witches and wizards with this books. So how hard would it be to fool a place full of children? The petrified victims when they were revived could never say it was him because he erased their memories before he cursed them. I wrote this down too, and Nick nodded before glaring at Lockhart.

Perhaps we could get McGonagall to listen to us instead, or even Flitwick. Snape hated students so why would he take us seriously? With Dumbledore gone, McGonagall or Flitwick were our next best bet. Last year it turned out Quirrell couldn't be trusted, so it made sense that it could be Lockhart this time.

Tasha must have read my mind, because she wrote down on a piece of parchment next. I leaned over to see she'd written: McGonagall next!

We didn't get the change to talk to her as exams approached. No other teacher let us stay behind and if we tried to talk to her, she waved us off. I was thinking the best thing we could do was send her a letter. Tasha had the best handwriting out of all of us, so during a History of Magic lesson, she wrote the letter. We planned to ask Garth to accompany us to the Owlery that night as prefects were allowed. However, we didn't get the chance.

Class was almost over when we heard McGonagalls voice magically echoing into the classroom and down the corridors.

"All students are to return to their dormitories at once. All teachers return to their to the staff room immediately!"

"Another attack!" Philip yelled from the back.

Professor Binns looked up as if this was an annoyance to him. He hated being interrupted from his lectures.

"Well go on I suppose," he said. "Do not stop anywhere. Just go straight to your dorms but do remember today's lesson. Some of the dates are very important for the final exam."

Everyone jumped up and hurried out. Students in the corridors were all asking the same thing. Who had been attacked this time? At the end of the corridor, we found Garth and some sixth and seventh years waiting.

"First years, we're just waiting for the second years," Garth called out. "Is every first year here?"

"Garth, you take this lot, we'll get the second and fourth years," a girl said. "They should be here any moment. Mensah and Jake have gone to get the third years. Too bad the Divination room is so far, it would make things easier if it weren't."

"Good idea," Garth said. "You lot, follow me."

"You're all waiting for us instead of going to the common room?" I asked Garth with admiration.

That was definitely prefect material there. They were all thinking of the younger years before themselves. How many people would do that? And a lot of the people standing there weren't even prefects. They said that Hufflepuff's were loyal but Ravenclaws certainly stuck together too.

"Yes, we'd rather get you lot to safety first," Garth said. "And we're sticking together anyway. No one is left alone. Now come on. I have a feeling this time it's worse than just an attack."

"Someone didn't die?" Katrina asked.

"I don't know. Flitwick will explain," Garth told her. "Let's just get up to our common room."

What if someone had been killed this time? Why hadn't we gotten to McGonagall sooner? We could have prevented this! Some of the girls were crying. Tasha was blinking very quickly. Once we were in the common room, we sat on the floor closer to each other than we normally would have. I think we all felt comforted to just be near each other.

It wasn't long before the older students were leading the rest of the younger years in. The second years came over and sat near us, and then the third years did. The fourth years and older all sat down on the chairs and at the tables close to us.

"Well every Ravenclaw is here," a seventh year said looking around. "So it wasn't one of us again."

No one said anything. It was the quietest it had ever been in the common room, even lately with people studying for their exams. Flitwick entered not too long after that and his eyes were bloodshot and he had tear stains on his face, his nose even looked red. Seeing him like that just confirmed that someone had died this time.

"Someone died, didn't they?" A fifth year boy called out.

"The monster has taken a student into the Chamber of Secrets," Flitwick responded looking as if he may cry again.

"How do you know?" A girl called out. "And which student?"

"A message was left on the wall stating that her Skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever. It was Ginny Weasley," he answered. "Tomorrow, the Hogwarts Express will come to take everyone home. Hogwarts as of now is closed. You will pack all of your belongings and you will not leave this room. Prefects, please ensure no one leaves and that everyone packs tonight. Your parents will be informed immediately."

And then pulling out a handkerchief, Flitwick blew his nose and then turned and rushed back out the door. No one moved at first. Everyone just stared around. Ginny Weasley. She was our fellow first year. I hadn't really talked to her, but we'd had some classes together.

"But she was pureblood," Ivan whispered.

"But the Weasley's are blood traitors," Nick said. "Guess they were after muggleborns and blood traitors."

"You heard Flitwick," Garth finally said. "Go on and pack."

No one argued. At once, everyone stood up and walked over to the door to the dorms. There was a bit of a line up before we were able to get in. The poor Weasley's I thought to myself. They had just lost their only sister. I didn't know what I'd do if it were one of my siblings. What had she been doing out on her own? Out of all the years, the first years had been looked after the most. How had she managed to get away? Had Lockhart asked her to stay after class perhaps? Maybe he got her on her own and then took her to the Chamber. She wouldn't question it. Why would she? She trusted him just as the rest of us did.

I said this to Nick while we began to pack.

"I was thinking that too."

"You think it was Lockhart?" Darren asked. "Why?"

Nick began explaining our reasoning to him. All the boys stopped packing to listen. None of them knew about Quirrell. They exchanged looks as we got to the part about what Snape had said about memory charms.

"What if they were working together then?" Ivan asked.

"That would make sense," Kevin said. "He was so quick to dismiss the idea. He is Slytherin. Maybe he's Slytherin's heir and he used Lockharts talen with the memory charm to erase their memories. Maybe they exaggerated their hatred."

"I dunno…" Philip said. "Seems like a mad idea that Looney Lovegood would come up with."

"Not really," I said. "She thought it was a Basilisk."

"That's not so ridiculous," Philip said. "They can live hundreds of years and Salazar Slytherin was known for snakes obviously. I don't normally defend her ideas but she could be onto something."

"But they're rare and how could it get through the school?" Nick asked. "Someone would notice a snake going through the school. Basilisks are huge."

"Sorry, but what is a Basilisk?" Ivan asked.

"It's a deadly snake," Philip answered. "It's stare can kill you instantly and that could explain what happened to that Granger girl and that prefect. They had a mirror with them. They didn't look at it directly and Creevey had his camera."

"And that second year boy saw him through that ghost," Kevin added. "For Luna that is actually not a nutty idea."

"But you're still forgetting about how it's getting through the school," I reminded them. "It makes sense because you want it to, but there is no way a snake that huge can get through the school without anyone noticing."

"Well, it's not like we will ever know," Nick said bitterly. "Thanks to Lockhart, the school is closed forever I bet!"

"I don't even know what I am going to do now," Ivan said. "I'm muggleborn."

"Same here," Kevin said sadly.

"We'll keep in contact," I told him. "There are day schools and chances are my parents will hire a tutor. I've already told Tasha we'd help her. We'll help you too. Maybe we could all have the same tutor."

"Maybe," Ivan said but he still looked upset. "I like it here at Hogwarts. Besides the scary stuff, this was the best year of my life. I'm living every muggle kids dream, and now it's over!"

We finished packing everything and then we made our way back down to the common room. The room was full of very sad people. Around us, people were discussing Ginny and how shocking it was that it was a pureblood that was killed in the end. It was a long time before Tasha finally joined us. I was beginning to wonder where she was when she finally joined us at our table.

"We were trying to find some of Luna's stuff," she explained. "You know, the girls have hidden some of it around the castle. We had to summon some of it."

"Summon it?" I asked. "But that's fourth year level!"

"Well, we had trouble doing it. We had to get some of the older girls to help. Even Gretchen was trying to help. I think I managed to actually do it though even though it was hard. Luna said we got it all thankfully. I don't know why they insist on hiding her things. Hopefully they won't next year," Tasha explained. "I just still can't believe Ginny is gone. She was a sweet girl. And now I'll never see any of these people again!"

"Well, we talked to some of the boys," I said. "If my parents hire a tutor we could all probably learn together… not Gretchen though," I added quickly. "She's one person I won't miss."

"Same here," Nick said.

"I won't either. I think she's behind most of it when it comes to Luna's things. I know Samaira and Katrina do it too, but I think she does it the most," Tasha said. "And I do think some of the boys take her stuff from the common room too. People really shouldn't. None of them would like it people did it to them. I don't see why they care so much about her being outrageous. She really is sweet."

"Bullies don't care about that stuff," I said.

"You weren't behind it were you?" Tasha asked Nick.

"I wouldn't do that," he said giving her a rare glare. "I make fun of her, but I don't take peoples stuff."

"I had to check," Tasha said defiantly. "We will keep in touch right?"

"If I have it my way we'll be learning at my house," I told her.

"But underage magic," she said. "Can we really do that?"

"Yes as long as the Ministry knows," I answered. "I mean, that's how they do it with the kids who are home schooled."

"I can't believe we are leaving here forever," Tasha said with tears in her eyes. "This feels like my home. I don't want to go back home. Mum and dad are going to be awful. I know they are. I could handle it when I knew it was just for summer, but forever?"

"Well just come over as much as possible," I told her. "Mum and dad love you. They'll let you stay if it comes to that. Don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you can still learn magic and that you'll be okay."

"And I will too," Nick told her. "We are friends no matter what!"

We stayed up until the prefects told us it was time for bed. I didn't want to go. I didn't want this to my last night there, but we all went anyway. I laid awake for a long time before I fell asleep.

I didn't think I was asleep for very long before I was shooken awake. I sat up and saw that it was Garth. He continued on to wake the rest of the boys. Everyone sat up and they all looked as confused as I felt.

"We're to meet Professor Flitwick in the common room," he said once everyone was awake.

"Not another attack?" Ivan asked as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

"I don't think so," Garth said. "He said he'd explain but he was smiling. So it must be good news. He was positively beaming in fact."

We all scrambled out of bed at this. There was a scrimmage at the door as we all tried to push our way out. It took even longer to get down the stairs as there were boys ahead of us. When we finally entered the common room, it was to find Flitwick in his pajamas and he was grinning.

"Ginny Weasley has been saved, and the culprit was found out!" He squeaked excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore is hosting a feast! The school will not close after all! Not only that, but all the petrified victims will be revived tonight!"

There was a loud cheer and people began hugging each other. Tasha burst into happy tears as Nick and I hugged her at the same time.

"But how and who?" Ralph called out.

"I don't know the details quite yet," Flitwick responded. "I'm sure Dumbledore will give the announcement later on. All he told us was to wake everyone for a feast and to tell you what I told you. Don't worry about changing, just go on downstairs!"

There was a stampede for the door. We hung back so we wouldn't be trampled. Once the crowd started to thin out, we followed our house mates out and hurried down the steps. Tasha talked excitedly all the way down about being able to come back after all. I wanted to write home to mum and dad to let them know that all was well again. I was sure they were likely still awake, so I turned back on the stairs and hurried back up calling to Tasha and Nick what I was going.

"Grab some for me too!" Nick called. "We'll save you a seat!"

I wondered if the teachers would let us go to the owlery even in the middle of the night. If we were awake anyway and whoever was caught, it shouldn't be a problem I figured. I ran to our table where I'd left my bag and reached into grab my quill case, and two pieces of parchment. I turned and hurried back out again. Excited voices filled the corridors as I sprinted through them. I passed the Weasley family as I ran. Ginny was there looking a bit dirty and tired, but fine otherwise. The whole family was hugging her and crying.

"Glad you're okay Ginny," I said pausing momentarily before rushing off again.

In the Great Hall, I found the first years sitting in the middle of the and Nick had saved me a spot between them. I took my spot between them and then handed Nick a piece of parchment. I opened my case and handed him a quill and an inkwell.

"What are you doing?" Gretchen asked. "Writing mummy and daddy already?"

"Of course," I said coldly. "They'll likely still be awake and worried. I just want them to know everything is okay. A good kid would do that for their parents. Mind your own business for once."

"Can I borrow a piece?" Ivan asked. "My parents are muggles after all."

"Yes, once I am done. I won't write a lot," I told him and the other first years besides Gretchen asked for a piece too. I smirked at Gretchen before I wrote a quick note to mum and dad.

The table soon filled with food and everyone began helping themselves. After a little bit, I went down and asked Garth if he could take us first years to the owlery really quickly, which he agreed to.

"We can't be long. I think Dumbledore is going to explain everything soon," he said. "I think once the petrified victims are back to normal so you lot need to hurry up."

He didn't have to worry about that. It wasn't until an hour after we'd sent our letters that the petrified victims returned excitedly. The Great Hall erupted into cheers when they all appeared. As excited as we all were, we were still all waiting to hear what had happened exactly. Nick jumped up happily to run to the teachers table when Hagrid came back, and he wasn't the only one. Several students did as well, including Tasha and me.

Finally, once we were all seated, Dumbledore stood up.

"I know you must all be wondering what took place tonight," he began. "An innocent student fell prey to an artifact containing dark magic. It possessed her, and unknowingly she unleashed the horrors of this year. She will not be punished as greater Wizards have fallen for worse. Two students who we owe thanks to risked their lives to save not only Ginny Weasley, but all of you from the monster, which is now dead. I would like everyone to thank Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Ronald Weasley. If it weren't for them, the school could have been closed forever, and innocent girl could have been punished for something she had no control over. I therefore award the boys two hundred points each!"

"Of course it was Potter!" Philip shouted as everyone cheered and clapped.

The Gryffindor table was clapping the hardest for they had also won the house cup with those points. Several people began running over to the Gryffindor table to shake their hands or to pat their backs. Of course I had been hoping that all my points won that year would win us the cup, but the Gryffindors deserved it. Harry was certainly brave. I wasn't sure if I could do what he did. Twice now he had saved the school. He was a born Gryffindor, that was for sure.

Professor McGonagall stood up not to much longer after that to announce that as a school treat, all exams had been canceled. Even I had to cheer at that. I just hoped my marks were good enough for me to pass into the second year. I said this to Nick who shook head and smirked.

"Oh shut up Hoofer," he said. "We all know you're top of the year without those exams. Don't tell me you're disappointed."

"Of course not," I answered. "But you must be relieved. You won't have to worry about Transfiguration now."

"Exactly," he said.

"And one more announcement before we leave you to finish our celebrations," Dumbledore called out. "Lockhart will not be returning next year owing to the fact that he lost his memory. Unfortunately, a memory charm backfired on him and he will be spending next year at St. Mungos getting his memory back!"

A loud cheer erupted once again from all the students and even the teachers were cheering about this. I hoped next year we would get someone better. My first year in Defense had been a complete waste of time. Again I wondered what Dumbledore was thinking by hiring him? Surely he was smart enough to know that Lockhart was a fraud. If first years could figure it out then a smart man like him surely could! He was supposed to be one of the most powerful wizards after all.

The rest of the term was back to normal but it was fun. Since we didn't have to worry about exams, we were able to just relax after classes. We spent most of our time outside since it was warm out not. We visited Hagrid's a few times. Hagrid finally revealed to us why he'd been expelled in his third year, but asked for us to not spread it around.

Apparently a student had accused him of being behind attacks from another time the Chamber had been open.

"It had been opened before!" Tasha asked. "So why didn't the teachers figure it all out then?"

"Well the boy behind it stopped doing it after a girl died," Hagrid responded. "Once it seemed the school would close he er stopped it. He pretended it was me 'cause well, I had an acromantula but he never hurt nobody. I kept him in a cupboard then released him. Didn't matter ter the teachers though. I was expelled and he was never caught."

"An acromantula?" Tasha asked. "Oh Hagrid. You shouldn't have. It could have hurt someone eventually. And where did it go?"

"Er well, he's in forest now. He has his own family now see?" Hagrid answered.

"A family of acromantula in the forest?" I asked Hagrid feeling chilled. "But what if they come out here and attack us."

"Ah they won' do that. They have there own little area," He answered.

The three of us exchanged glances. It made me very uncomfortable knowing that there was a family of them, and it would only keep expanding. No wonder we weren't allowed in there. I just hoped they had enough food to keep them satisfied.

"So who was the boy then?" Nick asked him. "Who opened the Chamber before?"

"Well You-Know-Who before he got all powerful," Hagrid answered.

"You got framed by You-Know-Who?" I asked. "But why didn't you tell anyone. He must have been suspicious wasn't he?"

"Ter be honest, no. He was a good student and the teachers felt sorry for him you know. He was this smart orphan kid. Prefect and Head boy and all that. Not many even know what he became afterwards. No one connects that smart boy to the mos' evil wizard ever," Hagrid answered.

"And was it his dark artifact that possessed the girl then?" I asked him and Hagrid nodded.

"Not sure if Dumbledore wants me telling yeh lot that," he said. "So don't spread it around. He kept it vague for a reason didn' he?"

"And was it Ginny Weasley?" Tasha asked quietly and Nick and I looked at her quickly.

"Why would yeh ask that?" Hagrid asked her.

"Just seems odd," Tasha responded. "She was down there and all. I expect it possessed her and made her write that on the wall. Dumbledore made it seem kind of obvious. We won't tell anyone, but I just think that's what it is."

Hagrid nodded. I hadn't connected those facts together, but it did actually make sense. It had been an innocent girl after all. Apparently the petrified victims knew too since they'd seen her, but they were sworn to secrecy. There were rumours too that it was a giant snake as well, so chances are Luna was right about it being a basilisk. It was the only thing that made sense. No one had died because they hadn't looked at it's eyes directly.

"Poor Ginny," Tasha said later on. "I bet she feels so guilty. Could you imagine being possessed and doing all that stuff? I'd feel horrible for ever. And you know what? I think it was Moaning Myrtle who died."

"Moaning Myrtle?" I asked.

"She's a ghost that is depressed and she haunts one of the toilets. All that flooding was near her bathroom. She's the only young ghost girl who is around. I mean, she may have died from something else but somehow I doubt it."

"Well, there is the Grey Lady too," I reminded her.

The Grey Lady was the Ravenclaw ghost. All the houses had a ghost.

"She's ancient though and she's not school aged," Tasha said.

I was sad when we had to leave for real. At least this time I knew I'd be back, but I still didn't want to go. Sure I missed my parents and siblings but I loved the castle so much. I just hoped the next year wouldn't be as interesting. I doubted it could be though. Nothing could top being scared that we'd be petrified any given moment.

"But just think," Nick said as the train started away. "Next year we'll be second years. We won't be the kids of the school anymore."

"That's true," I said as I watched the castle disappear. "And you two can over and swim as much as you want. I may even have a pool party! I'll write the kids in Ravenclaw later on to see if they want to come over."

"Even Gretchen?" Nick asked.

"Well she'll probably be angry if I invite her friends but not her," I said. "So likely. And probably some of the others too. You two think of some of the Hufflepuff's and Gryffindors. Maybe we can make it tradition."

"Sounds good mate," Nick said. "Maybe if we invite Ginny, she'll invite Potter and his friends."

"Maybe," I said. "But I'm not going to ask her that. It will just seem weird and obvious."

"Wonder if that Hufflepuff girl will be back then?"Nick said.

"I heard she would be," Tasha said. "I'm just glad we all can. I'm dreading this summer. Most of it I will be baby-sitting thankfully."

"Well just come by on weekends if you can," I told her. "Too bad you couldn't floo over like Nick does. You could just come over after baby-sitting."

"I wish I could," she muttered. "It might not be too bad. We'll write a lot, right?"

"Of course," I said. "I'm dreading how Brenda will be. I bet she'll be so obnoxious this summer. I really hope she is sorted anywhere but Ravenclaw. She's ambitious so maybe she'll be in Slytherin."

"I don't think you want her there," Nick said. "Not all Slytherins are bad of course but with her attitude and all, I could see her changing for the worst. Might be best if she's sorted where you can keep an eye on her."

"Maybe but I just hope she doesn't annoy us," I replied.

I sighed and glanced out the window. I wondered how the summer would be like. I couldn't wait to spend time with Brianne and Benny of course, but otherwise I wanted to be back at school already. I also didn't want to be around my oldest sister. As bad as it sounded, I just couldn't stand her. I loved her but I couldn't her. Perhaps I could hang out at Nick's instead. Maybe Brenda could be baby-sitter that summer.


	7. Second Year Part One

Warning: Contains some corporal punishment sometimes. Eventually characters will drink.

Second year

"If I could do magic I'd silence you!" I told Brenda angrily. "You just never stop, do you?"

Brenda just stuck her tongue out at me.

"Oh real mature," I said.

"Well, I don't want you to be my baby-sitter!" She exclaimed.

"I don't like it any better than you do," I said furiously. "I wish I didn't have to be around you at all. I loved it at Hogwarts last because you weren't around. Too bad you'll be going now."

"Speak for yourself," Brianne said. "I'm glad she'll be gone!"

"Me too!" Benny said. "It will be nice and peaceful here without her."

"Oh shut up. It's never peaceful when you're around!" Brenda shouted at him.

"It's never peaceful when you're around!" Benny retorted. "Haven't you noticed none of us want you around?"

"He has a point," I said. "Now go away. I'm trying to do my homework. Go swimming or something that doesn't involve me. I warn you now to stay away from me at school."

"Like I wanted to be around you!" She retorted.

It was the middle of the summer, and this was a typical day in the Hoofer household. Every single day I was fighting with my sister, and if I wasn't, my youngest siblings were. I was tired of it and I just hoped that once I got back to school it wouldn't be so bad. As horrible as she could be, I had hopes she would make friends anyway. She put me in mind of Gretchen, one of the annoying girls in my year. She had found friends, so if she had, then there was hope for Brenda.

Brenda was already grounded for the summer. I don't know why she felt the need to still act up unless she knew that since she was already grounded, she couldn't be punished further. Though chances are mum and dad could still try and ground her from the pool. The only reason she wasn't was because I'd begged them not to. If she couldn't go in the pool then she'd drive me even more mad than usual. Instead, she wasn't allowed to do anything else or go anywhere. Most weekends she had to stay in her room.

"Well, for someone who doesn't want to be around me, you're certainly around a lot," I told her. "I'm trying to do my school work, so go away. Go swim in the pool."

"She shouldn't even be allowed to swim in the pool," Brianne said.

"She's only allowed cause I told mum and dad to let her otherwise she'd annoy me more," I said. "But it's only when they aren't around," I added and I glared at Brenda. "So go swim while you have the chance. It's supposed to rain tomorrow anyway."

"Whatever," Brenda said and she turned on her heel and left the room.

"I'd appreciate it if you two left as well," I said. "Not that I don't want to see you, but I really just want to finish my school work. I'd like to get it over and done with. I've put it off long enough because of Ms. Attitude."

"Okay, but when is Tasha coming over again?" Brianne asked. "She hasn't been for two weeks."

"I dunno, her parents are being stubborn," I said.

"But why don't her parents like her?" Brianne asked.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her.

I hadn't told my siblings that Tasha was unwanted at home, and that was why she spent her holidays with us. For some reason her parents, though they still didn't want her around, they didn't want her coming and going that summer. They just wanted her to baby-sit and only come by some weekends. Yet, from what Tasha told me they wanted her to stay out of their way. Perhaps they just didn't want her to have fun or something.

"I've overheard you," Brianne said. "Not on purpose but you lot don't exactly keep your voices down. Besides, it was kind of obvious. We kind of wondered," she said as she pointed to Benny. "She spend her holidays with us instead of them and she didn't like talking about them. Brenda said she was almost crying one night."

"Can I finish this first, and we'll talk later?" I asked.

"You'll tell us the truth?" Brianne pressed.

"Yes, I will tell you the truth," I answered. "You two just go play. Go swim or something. It's true it is supposed to rain tomorrow. I'll come outside later but I want to get these last two essays done. I should never have waited this long to finish."

"What about what really happened last year?" Benny asked me.

"That's up to mum and dad," I told him.

"Okay but I don't believe the suspension story anymore. Everyone was scared and I don't think it was cause you were going to be suspended. Besides, mum and dad said Hogwarts almost closed. I'm old enough to hear now. I'll be seven in September!"

"Ask mum and dad and please go," I said. "If mum and dad say it's okay I will tell you everything."

"You still haven't told me," Brianne said. "Come on Benny. Let's go swimming. We'll try to ignore Brenda and if she's mean we'll just fly."

Thankfully the two of them left. I would have to let Tasha know too that they had guessed. So turning away from my essay, I wrote a quick letter to her explaining everything. Then I began working on my school work again. I hoped no one would bug me so that I could finally be done with it. This baby-sitting gig was annoying and I hoped next year Brenda could take over. Mum and dad thought she was too immature still.

Later that night, the three of us gathered in my room with some snacks mum had made for us. Mum and dad had been hesitant about letting Benny know the truth, but then they changed their minds. He knew all about You-Know-Who now, so they'd decided it wouldn't hurt to tell about the year before. Brenda was angry because she wasn't invited, but all three of us were tired of her. Besides, she was grounded in her room in the evenings. She'd thrown a temper tantrum when she'd found this out.

The three of us were sitting on the floor with the snacks between us.

"So which first?" I asked. "Hogwarts or Tasha's parents?"

"Tasha's parents," Brianne said. "Hogwarts will take longer to talk about."

"She's okay with you telling us?" Benny asked. "I thought it was secret at first."

"I wrote to her after you two left, and explained it. She said it's fine and she doesn't see the point in keeping it secret," I told him.

"Is she coming over soon?" He asked eagerly.

"Maybe," I answered. "She said her parents are coming around about it for weekends."

"So, why don't they like her? I don't understand why someone wouldn't like their kid?"

"Yeah, she isn't mean like Brenda. Mum and dad still like Brenda even though she is mean all the time. She's even mean to them," Benny said. "So what did Tasha do?"

"She didn't do anything but be a witch," I answered and I explained everything to them.

"But that's not her fault," Brianne said when I finished. "Why can't they be happy for her? That's not a good reason to not like your kid!"

"Well it's almost like some parents who don't like their kids if they are squibs," I said. "And not everyone is nice unfortunately. Some people are very judgmental and her parents don't like things that are different. It's the same with Harry Potter's family. You know that the muggles he lives with don't like him."

"But he got rid of an evil wizard so they should!" Benny said. "And Tasha is nice so her parents should like her. Maybe mum and dad could adopt her."

"I'm sure they would if they could," I said. "But that's why we should always be nice to her. Don't remind her about it or ask her about it either. Just let her bring it up on her own."

"It doesn't matter how awful Brenda can be, I'd always want her to be my sister," Brianne said in a low voice. "And mum and dad would always love her. How can they not want her just because of magic? If I had a squib I would still love him or her!"

"Me too," Benny said. "Mum and dad would always love us. I will always love my kids no matter what. Even if I have a kid like Brenda!"

"I don't think any of us would, not even Brenda," I said. "As bad she can be, she'd never treat her kid like that. At least I hope not," I added as I thought about what she'd said about Benny. But she was a child now, she'd changed by the time she was all grown up.

"Well she doesn't like me," Benny said.

"Brenda is just a brat," I said. "She likes you just fine. She just doesn't like how things don't go her own way. She's just acting this way because she wants her own room. She thought that once I went to school, she could sleep in mine. She also hates that she didn't get to boss you two around. She's just a spoiled brat! She needs to learn that she can't get her own way. I dunno why she thinks she should. It's not like mum and dad have ever let us."

"And I bet she is angry that I do get my own room for a couple years," Brianne said. "I bet that's why she has been so mean to me."

"Yes, that's exactly what it is," I told her.

"But why me? Cause I got my own room?" Benny asked. "The only reason I do is cause you're the oldest Barry and mum and dad don't want me to share with Brianne. She shouldn't be angry with me it's not my choice."

"Yes but she doesn't see it that way," I said. "She thinks it's all your fault too."

"Well it's not," Benny said and he folded his arms. "So she needs to get over it."

"We've told her that," I said. "But maybe now that she's going to Hogwarts, she will calm down."

"Maybe," Brianne said but she didn't sound sure. "So Hogwarts now. Mum and dad only told us some things. They didn't tell us why you almost had to come home. Mum was crying a lot and we thought something had happened to you but they said it wasn't you. We thought you'd been petrified."

"Petrified?" Benny asked.

"Yes," I said and then I began with what had happened with Halloween.

It took a long time for me to tell them everything. I had to give them both credit. Neither interrupted. Usually they would ask a question in the middle of the story. Benny sat with his mouth opened as he listened. Brianne had heard some of this before, but she was listening intently as well. I was surprised at everything I remembered. By the time I was done, my mouth was dry. I had to take a long sip of pumpkin juice.

"Wow," Benny finally said. "That would have been so scary. Were you scared?"

I wanted to lie and pretend I hadn't been but there was no reason to. What was the point? So I nodded.

"Yes, it was very scary. We wouldn't go anywhere alone. After a while we weren't allowed to go anywhere alone," I said. "We were worried about Tasha the most because she's muggleborn."

"I'm glad she wasn't petrified," Benny said. "But what happens to a person petrified? How are they still alive?"

"That I can't answer," I said. "I am not even sure if Dumbledore could explain it."

"I just don't understand why people blamed Harry Potter," Brianne said. "He would never hurt muggleborns. His mum was a muggleborn and he got rid of You-Know-Who!"

"He kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time," I said. "It seemed suspicious but Tasha, Nick and I knew all along that he wasn't guilty. One of his best friends is muggleborn."

"Can you get his autograph for me?" Benny asked.

"No," I said firmly. "He doesn't like that. He just likes to be seen as normal."

"But he beat the most evil wizard ever! If it was me, I'd want everyone to know me and I'd sign photographs all the time!"

"You wouldn't like it," I said. "You'd never get privacy and everyone would want to know everything about you. They would be staring at you all the time. Besides, he is only famous because You-Know-Who killed his mum and dad but they couldn't kill him. Think about it Benny, we wouldn't have mum or dad and maybe we wouldn't be here. You might be the only one left."

"Oh," Benny said. "No, I guess I wouldn't like that. I want mum and dad more than I want to be famous and I want you lot too, even Brenda."

"I bet it would be annoying to have people look at you a lot," Brianne said. "And that night would have been horrible. And he keeps having mental things happen to him doesn't he? Mum and dad told us about his first year with that Philosophers Stone. Then last year he had all that stuff and he even saved someone again! Maybe next year he'll have a peaceful year."

"I hope so for my sake too," I said. "I don't want another last year."

But that wasn't to be. A couple weeks later, we were eating breakfast one Saturday morning when dad gasped when he got the usual delivery of the paper. Nick and Tasha were over to, we were all going to Diagon Alley that day. Mum and dad have volunteered take Tasha, and Nick asked if he could go with us too then. All of us looked up at him. Mum was busy giving Benny second helpings of some eggs. She dropped some on the floor as dad gasped.

"What is it?" Mum asked.

I had a feeling that dad would have lied to us, but Brianne who was nearest to him read the cover of the front page out loud.

"Wanted: Sirius Black. Dad, who is Sirius Black?"

"Sirius Black?" Mum whispered.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Who is Sirius Black?"

Dad sighed and then glanced at mum who shrugged and then nodded.

"You might as well tell them. They'll probably find out anyway," she said.

She cleaned up the eggs that she'd dropped, and then she put the rest onto Benny's plate before sitting back down. We all began to eat again.

"He's a mass murderer," dad answered as we ate. "Twelve years ago, he killed thirteen people with a single curse. He blasted the street apart and killed a bunch of muggles and one wizard. It was right after You-Know-Who's downfall. He went after a wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew, but he killed muggles in the process. He's been in Azkaban ever since. Well, until recently. He's escaped."

"From Azkaban?" I asked. "But that's impossible. Everyone knows that. I thought people were supposed to go crazy after a while and he was still sane after all these years? How did he even get past the Dementors?"

"What are Dementors and what's Azkaban?" Tasha asked.

"It's the wizard prison," Benny said quickly.

He was probably happy to contribute to the conversation for once. More and more he was learning about things like that. Before, he just knew about the basic things in our world, but mum and dad decided he was old enough to know bigger things like Azkaban prison for example.

"And the Dementors are the guards," mum told her. "And they are dreadful. They make you re-live your unhappiest memories but they also make everything cold. Barry is right. People usually go insane in Azkaban. So how he managed to still have a clear head is a wonder."

"How he got past the Azkaban guards is a bigger question," Nick said. "And isn't it out in the middle of the lake?"

"Yes, that's what makes it worse," dad said.

"So do they think he's out to murder some more people?" Tasha asked.

"That or maybe he hopes to find You-Know-Who," dad told her.

"He won't come here, will he?" Benny asked.

"I doubt it, but I think you should be on guard, that means you can't go on your own in Diagon Alley," mum added to me.

"Oh come on mum," I said "You promised that the three of us could do our own thing. Sirius Black isn't going to turn up in Diagon Alley. He's got a ten thousand galleon prize on his head according to that cover. Please don't do this. Someone would spot him right away!"

Mum had promised that this year I could get my own supplies with Nick and Tasha. It had been the deal for me being baby-sitter again.

"I think he'll be fine in Diagon Alley dear," dad said. "They're already having patrols down there. Black seems smart. He'll be laying low for a while. For all we know, he could be half-way to Albania."

"Alright, but just don't wander off to anywhere but the shops you need to go in," mum told me. "I suppose you have a point. He isn't going to turn up in the shops when everyone is looking for him."

"Yes well, do me a favour and don't mention that you're letting us go on our own," Nick said. "Mum and dad might not like it."

"If they write before we go to ask if we can keep an eye on you we'll have to do it," mum told him. "We can't go against your parents wishes."

"Can we go with Barry and his friends?" Brianne asked. "Do we have to stay with you?"

"Yes you two are coming with us," mum said before I could protest this.

I loved them, but I'd spent my summer baby-sitting. I wanted to just be with Tasha and Nick in Diagon Alley. I wanted some grown up conversation for a while, and I wouldn't get that. Besides, mum was anxious about Sirius Black now. She'd expect us to hold their hands or something.

"Yes, you two have to come with us," dad agreed when Brianne turned to him to beg. "However, we will go to Quality Quidditch Supplies and Zonkos while Brenda is getting fitted for her robes and while she gets her wand. I know last year that was boring for you while we waited on Barry. Brenda doesn't like those shops anyway, so we'll do that."

"Can I get a new broom too then?" Benny asked. "It doesn't have to be a Nimbus but I think your old broom is tired dad."

Dad usually had us learn on his old school broom. It had been my first one, and then it was supposed to be Brenda's when I got a newer one, but she'd never been interested so it went to Brianne. Now it was Benny's. Brianne had my old one when I got the Nimbus two thousand and one for my birthday. My old one was just a Cleansweep, but it was still a decent broom.

"It probably is tired," dad agreed. "But it should be Brianne who gets the broom and then you get-"

"You can get Benny a new broom," Brianne interrupted quickly. "I'm okay with Barry's. It's still a really good broom so I don't need a new one. He can have something new for a change. He always gets everyone's old things."

This wasn't entirely true. We were given new things, but if some of our things were still perfectly good, we handed it down to the next in line. Benny had a lot of my old clothes but he also had new ones as well. He had a lot of my old toys, but new ones as well. I decided not to say anything. I felt admiration for my little sister who was always so generous.

"Are you sure?" Dad asked Brianne and she nodded.

"I don't mind," she said. "But can we get stuff from Zonkos? Can we get ice cream too, or is that asking too much?"

Tasha started to giggle. Even Brenda was smiling which was a rarity these days. I had to admit, it was cute. Mum and dad exchanged looks and then looked back at her.

"We can get something for everyone today," mum finally said. "Brenda and Barry are getting new schools things after all. We will pick some stuff up for you two as well."

"I don't need too many books this time," I said. "At least we don't need a bunch of Lockhart books again."

"Yes, that was ridiculous," dad said. "And it turns out it was a waste of money. I heard they may not even be able to get his memory back."

"I still don't understand how his wand backfired if he was supposed to be good at that spell," mum said.

"He used Ron Weasley's old wand," I said. "Remember how him and Harry drove that car to school? He broke his wand and it was never any good last year. Anyway, Lockhart stole it and he tried to do a memory charm on Harry and Ron and it blew up."

That last bit I didn't find out until later. I'd been in touch with Ginny Weasley to see if she'd want to come to my pool party later. I'd ask her if she'd known what had happened to Lockhart since he'd gone down into the Chamber with Harry and Ron, and that's what she'd said. She wasn't able to come to the pool party since the Weasley's were on vacation in Egypt, but she'd told us to have fun and that she would see us in school.

Sure enough, Tasha and Nick gaped at me. I'd never told them that.

"How do you know that?" Nick asked.

I quickly explained what Ginny had told me in her letter.

"How can they even afford to go to Egypt?" Brenda asked and then she rolled her eyes. She'd always thought the Weasley's were a joke. "I thought they were poor."

"They won a prize," dad told her. "And don't look down on the less fortunate."

"I wasn't, I was just asking," Brenda responded.

"Anyway, finish up and then get ready," mum said. "We'll leave around ten. Benny, I want you to have a quick bath before we go. You look filthy. I wish you wouldn't play in the mud."

"But it's fun," he said. "And my Quidditch players need to play in all conditions you know."

"I'll help him get ready," I volunteered. "I had a shower last night, so I just need to get changed."

"Barry, you said you'd show me how to do wand movements this summer," Benny said. "But we haven't yet. If I get a trick wand from Zonko's can we?"

"Yes of course," I said. "I'm sorry mate, I know I haven't done what I promised. We have time for the rest of the summer too."

"You'll help him but not me," Brenda said. "I'm not patient enough to be a teacher!" She mimicked.

"Because it's you," I said. "And you get along better with Tasha anyway. Besides, I've sent you examples of my homework from last year. That should be enough."

"Yes well-" Brenda began.

"Don't start fighting," dad said. "Just eat and get ready. I'm tired of the two of you fighting all summer."

"She starts it," I muttered as I pierced a piece of bacon.

"But you don't have to engage her," dad said. "Now eat and get ready."

I was relieved when we were finally in Diagon Alley. As soon as we left The Leaky Cauldron, mum handed me a slip of parchment, and told us to go on. All I had to do was show the slip in shops and they would charge my parents Gringotts account. Likely I'd have to show my wand too, as proof. Nick questioned this as we walked down the alley.

"It's easier than going to Gringotts," I explained. "With all of us, it takes too long and Benny hates the carts. Do we need to exchange money for you?" I asked turning to Tasha who shook her head.

"No, your dad did that for me already," she said and she held up her bag of money. "You know, I made a lot money this summer. I didn't think I would. I still have a lot for the school year I bet. I didn't grow last year, so I don't need new robes. I just need supplies and books this year. It's a lot cheaper than last year."

"I heard second year usually is cheap," I said. "I think next year will be more. I need new robes. Mine are too small. We might as well do that first, and then we can go do the fun stuff."

"There are posters of Sirius Black all over the shop windows," Nick pointed out.

"Bet there are Aurors around too," I said. "Wizarding Law enforcement," I added quickly for Tasha's sake.

"It's so crowded," Tasha said. "He won't turn up here. You don't think they'll make us all have to follow prefects again do you?"

"I hope not," Nick said. "Not like he's going to go to Hogwarts, but they might take those precautions. I just want a normal school year."

We went to Madame Malkin's Robes first. I was surprised to see that mum and Brenda had gone there first. Brenda was just being measured when we walked in. A small girl beside her was being measured too, and the two of them were talking. Perhaps she'd make friends after all, I thought while Nick and I walked over to wait. Tasha went over to look at some dress robes.

"I'm surprised this is the first shop you've some to," mum said when she spotted us.

"Might as well get the boring stuff out of the way," I told her. "Where did the others go?"

"The Quidditch shop. There is a brand new broomstick there. I've got to give Benny credit, he didn't ask for it, but he certainly was admiring it when we left," mum explained.

"Another Nimbus already? They're just churning them out quickly now. They never used to," Nick said. "Third new one in a row. What is this one called?"

"Not a Nimbus," mum said. "It's a new brand. It's called the Firebolt and it's apparently one that Professional Quidditch players use. It's supposed to be the fastest broomstick yet."

"We have to go check it out next!" Nick told me excitedly.

"Blimey, I agree," I said. "How much is it mum?"

"Too expensive," she said quickly. "It says price on request. You have a perfectly good broomstick."

"I wasn't going to try and buy it," I said with amusement. "I was curious. You just better hope that Benny doesn't turn on the old cute charm."

"He won't," mum said with amusement as Brenda came over to us beaming.

Mum showed her slip to Madame Malkin and then told her that she wanted the robes delivered.

"Could you do that for this lot as well?" She added for us. "They're on their own, but it's all going to the same place."

"Oh but there's an extra charge for delivery-" Nick began.

"Don't worry," mum said in a low voice. "When it's over a certain amount, it's free. You can pay me back for the robes later."

"If you're sure," Nick said but he looked uncomfortable with this.

Nick and I were next.

"You've grown a lot since last year," she said impressed as she measured me.

"You mean you remember me?" I asked her as she began pinning up the robes. "You must get hundreds of students though."

"Yes, but I remember each and every one of you," she said with a smile.

"Must have a memory like Ollivander," Nick said with a smirk.

"Well, not quite that well but I do remember and it's amazing watching you lot grow," she answered as she turned to him. "Just yesterday I fitted a young lady for a wedding gown. I remember the first time she came in for her Hogwarts robes. You've grown too, but not quite as much as Barry."

"I don't think I'd be able to remember everyone," Nick said. "That's amazing. I'll be sure to come to you when I get married."

"If you find a girl to marry you," I said laughing.

Madam Malkin laughed too.

"You want to know the irony?" She asked. "I measured Nick and Tasha the same exact day. Now you two are back as friends."

"You do have a good memory," I said impressed.

"Well, that's you done Barry," she said to me.

She finished up with Nick and then assured us that we'd get our robes later that day. A few more students came in as we were just leaving. I recognized them as fourth year Ravenclaws. They smiled and waved at us as we left.

"So where to now?" Tasha asked.

"Quality Quidditch Supplies," Nick and I said at the same time.

"Why?" Tasha asked.

"There's a new broom that we want to look at," Nick said.

"Shouldn't we get our stuff first?" She asked. "You two will take ages looking at that broom. We should get our school stuff out of the way first, and then we can go."

She had a point when it came to that, so we went to all the shops first to get our school supplies. Though we did linger in the book shop for a bit. There were a few books Tasha and I wanted to get for extra reading. She finally got her Hogwarts: A History, and I got some books that I figured would help me in some of our classes. There was an new Defense book about hexes and jinxes I grabbed. Last year the class had been a waste of time. We'd have a new teacher that year, and who knew if he'd be a good one. I wanted to do well on my OWLs in three years, so I needed some background reading.

"Nerds," Nick muttered.

"Well I want to do well on my OWLs," I said. "Dumbledore doesn't seem to hire good candidates. I respect him and all, but after last year? I need to look out for myself. Wonder what those books are for," I added as I pointed to some books that were in a cage.

"Monster Book of Monsters," Tasha said reading one of the covers. "They're ripping each other apart. Do you think we should get them too?"

"No, I don't want a book that can bite," I said. "If I want to learn about magical creatures, I'll take Care of Magical Creatures next year. No, I just want to be able to perform Elementary level hexes and jinxes in fifth year and we can't know for sure if we'll have a good teacher or not. So I'm just getting this. I can use it to practice until fifth year."

"I just want more background reading so I don't have to keep asking you two," Tasha said.

"What is left on the list?" Nick asked.

"Just potion ingredients," I said. "We have everything else," and then I checked my watch. "And we still have a while before we have to meet up at The Leaky Cauldron. We should get ice cream after we get our ingredients and then Zonkos. Tasha is right. We should save the broom for last."

"Sounds good, then we won't feel that we have to rush," Nick said.

So that's what we did. Even Tasha, who didn't understand the fuss over broomsticks was impressed by the Firebolt. It looked absolutely perfect. The three of us stared at it, but we weren't the only ones. A crowd of people stood behind us talking about it.

"Daddy, can you buy it for me please?" A small blond girl, about Benny's age pleaded.

"Ellen, you have a perfectly good broomstick at home," the man responded. "Now come, your mum and Timmy are waiting for us."

"Even little kids are impressed by it," Tasha said. "It's beautiful, and I bet it'd be amazing to fly! Could you imagine?"

"I actually can't," Nick said in awe. "I wish we could take it out for test run."

"Are you allowed to do that with other brooms?" Tasha asked him.

"Nah, but I wish we could. Probably they think people will steal them," he said.

I glanced at my watch to see that it was close to the time we were supposed to meet up with mum, dad and my siblings in The Leaky Cauldron. I didn't want to go though. I could stare at the broom for hours. I didn't want to be late though. I knew mum would have kittens if we were late, and maybe she'd even ground me, so I turned away reluctantly.

"Maybe someone in our house got one," Nick said. "We can see if we can test it."

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Tasha said. "So who is all coming tomorrow for the pool party?"

"Most of the Ravenclaw's," I said. "Some of the Hufflepuffs and only a few Gryffindors."

"Is Looney Lovegood one of them?" Nick asked.

"Don't call her that," Tasha said.

"No," I said. "I think she thinks I invited her as a joke or something. The other girls are coming and so are the guys. It won't be a lot of people but it should be fun."

"It will be interesting to see some of them outside of school," Tasha said.

"I just hope it's not rainy. Most of this summer has been," Nick said.

"Well, rain or shine it's still happening," I said. "Dad said it should be warm though. And hey, we can find out if any of them got a Firebolt."

We entered The Leaky Cauldron through the back entrance way. It was to find mum and Brianne sitting at a table and drinking butterbeer together. Dad, Brianne and Benny weren't back yet. I was relieved about that. I wouldn't get a lecture since we'd gotten there with a minute to spare. Mum and Brenda were talking happily together.

"Did you get everything?" Mum asked we took our seats.

"Yes, and Barry got the Firebolt too. It will be delivered this evening," Nick told her.

Mum and Brenda laughed. I stared at my sister. She was never usually this happy. Maybe Hogwarts was going to change her after all. She usually didn't have a sense of humour.

Moments later, Benny and Brianne raced over with dad following at a slower pace.

"I got a new broomstick," Benny said excitedly. "I got a Nimbus even though I was just going to take the Cleansweep."

"It will last him a few years," dad said with a shrug when mum raised her eyebrows. "He should be able to take it to Hogwarts too. Might as well get him one that will last. Are we ready to go?"

"We're ready," mum said as we all got to our feet.

The next day, it was a nice and warm sunny day. I was glad about this. I was having the pool party no matter what, but I was sure less people would show up if it was raining out. We spent the morning getting ready for the party. Everyone was supposed to show up after lunch. Benny and Brianne were overly excited about it, and had to be told to calm down more than once. I was letting them go too. I didn't see the point in making them stay away.

Brenda wasn't entirely sure if she was going to join or not. I didn't really care if she did or not. Ever since the day before she'd been reading through all her books. It was hard getting her to even eat her meals. So I could see her using my party to be left alone with her books.

Mum and dad insisted on decorating the patio even though I doubted anyone would care. Mum had spent most of the morning getting the snacks ready. Everyone started arriving shortly after lunch. The Ravenclaw boys showed up first, followed by the girls. Not too long after that, the Hufflepuff's came and then the Gryffindors. In a way, I'd hoped Colin Creevey wouldn't come, but he was there with his mates all excited. He'd brought his camera and he was taking pictures the moment he showed up.

"Why are you taking pictures at pool party?" Philip asked him.

"It's a wizards house!" He said excitedly. "Did you get the Weasley's to come?" He asked turning to me. "Do you think they'll bring Harry?"

"I invited Ginny, but the Weasley's are in Egypt," I answered. "But I doubt she'd bring Harry anyway. They don't really hang out do they? Anyway, there are snacks in the kitchen and you can change in the bathroom downstairs if you need to. We have plenty of towels if you didn't bring any."

Katrina and Gretchen were busy trying to get a tan while Tasha and Samaira sat on the edge of the pool talking. Benny was hanging out with some of the boys who didn't seem to mind at all. They seemed happy to have him around, so at least I knew he wasn't annoying them. Sometimes he could drive people up the wall with his questions. Others were in the pool already and swimming.

"You got quite the house," Ivan said as he looked around the backyard. "Never realized you were rich Hoofer."

"We're not," I said and Philip snorted.

"Everyone knows your family is," he said and then he turned and ran to jump in the pool. He splashed some of the girls who yelled out in protest. "It's a pool party!" He called out to them.

"Look at some of these girls in their bikini's," Nick said looking around. "Never realized they had all that under their robes! And Gretchen fills her out!"

"Thought you didn't like her," I said.

"I don't but come on, look at her! None of the other girls have boobs like that," he said.

"You should get in the pool," I told him with amusement.

I knew what he meant though. Last year I'd started noticing cute girls, but now they were all over the place and half naked. I hadn't taken that into consideration when I'd thought this up. It was hard not to stare at them. I just hoped Colin wouldn't take their pictures. He didn't seem to care about the girls though. He was too busy asking my dad questions about Garden Gnomes. We'd never had them in our yard as far as I knew. I knew some wizarding homes did have them, but dad had used some kind of spell to keep certain pests away.

I followed Nick into the pool. I noticed Brianne had joined Tasha and Samaira at the edge of the pool. She was asking them more questions about Ravenclaw even though I'd answered most. I think she was just happy to talk to older girls who weren't Brenda.

Most of the afternoon everyone swam and splashed each other. Nick wasn't the only boy to notice the girls. Several had put on sunglasses so that it wouldn't be so obvious. I did my best not to look at them though at times I would too when one of them would walk around. Tasha seemed annoyed by this when she caught us at it.

"Not like you don't notice boys," I said. "And we haven't forgotten Lockhart last year."

"That's not the point," she said.

"I think it is the point," I said. "You just don't like to admit you do it. We've all seen you at it, so don't make us feel ashamed of it. We're only human."

Tasha just stalked off angrily. I wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but I wasn't going to worry about it. I was just glad she'd never found out about my strange thoughts from the year before. I didn't really imagine kissing her as much anymore thankfully. Sometimes those thoughts did come back, but not as often. Most of the time, it happened with any girl I was talking to. I'd even imagined it with Gretchen and I would never snog her. Now I knew what Garth meant when he'd told me about our cousin. I was thankful that none of the girl females were close to my age. They were all grown up and out of Hogwarts.

The thought of actually kissing a girl made me nervous though. The thought of having a girlfriend made it even worse. How did the older kids do it? And apparently some of the people in my year had already snogged randomly! Nick had even told me that he was considering doing it that year. I wondered if I should too. He was younger than me and he was ready, so shouldn't I be too?

The day was a lot of fun and I got to get to know the people from other houses a lot better. The Hufflepuff girl, Olivia, who had left the year before, was back and ready for her second year. Her friends had invited her. She was excited to be going back.

She was another pretty girl. She had olive skin and black hair and beautiful big brown eyes. She was tall with long legs. I'd never really thought about girl legs before.

"I missed it so much," she said. "Doing magic at home just wasn't the same. I begged mum and dad all the time to let me just go back, but they said no. I was worried I couldn't go back this year cause of Sirius Black and all but they said it should be fine. There will be protection at the castle I think. I just hope they never pull me out again."

"Did you still have to do exams though?" I asked her. "Ours was cancelled."

"Well yes, I had to prove I was ready for second year," she answered. "It was a Ministry wizard who did the tests. I did really well."

"Well, it will be nice to have you back," I told her grinning feeling funny when she grinned.

"Thanks Barry, and thanks for inviting me to this party," she said and then she hugged me.

After that, I felt very flustered. The boys from my house had noticed, and they spent the rest of the day making fun of me about it. I'd been hugged by Tasha before, but she'd never made me feel weird before. Perhaps it was because Olivia had a bikini on when she'd done it.

"At least I can talk to girls," I finally retorted. "You lot just stare at them. Go and have a conversation with one. Go on."

"I'm good," Philip said.

"Because you're scared," I said.

"No, I just don't want to," Philip said but he couldn't look me in the eye when he said that.

None of the boys could. I felt satisfied about that. They could tease me all they wanted, but none of them had the guts to talk to the girls like I did. That day I was able to talk to most of them. The rest of the boys just stayed on one side of the pool away from them. It was then that I realized I could be confident around girls. It actually wasn't as hard as I'd made it out in my mind. I figured that year I'd talk to them more. If I could talk to them in bikinis then I could talk to them when they wore normal clothes. Feeling happy about this, I swam over to Benny to introduce him to some more of my friends. Perhaps I could start early with him so he wouldn't feel strange when he was old enough.


	8. Second Year Part Two

The first day of school was a dreary kind of day. It looked as if it might rain later on. Brenda had everyone up very early. Normally it was Benny who woke everyone up. He'd run in and jump on our beds at times. This time it was her, and she didn't even do it on purpose. She'd woken up at five in the morning to re-check her trunk and then she'd tried to take it downstairs on her. The result was that she ended up dropping it down the steps.

My parents had a security alarm that went off. Usually it was supposed to alert us if someone was trying to break in or if it was a dark wizard. It was left over from the first war. Dad had never seen the point in taking it down with a growing family. Sometimes with really loud noises, it went off as well though. My room was closest to the stairs, so Tasha and I woke from the bangs of her trunk but then thirty seconds later, the security alarms went off, waking everyone else up.

Dad ran out holding his wand out in alarm. He was probably worried it was Sirius Black or something. I think Benny thought that because he rushed straight into my arms, though he was now getting too heavy to hold. He must have grown recently. Brianne ran to Tasha and mum rushed over to all of us to make sure we were okay.

Brenda appeared at the top of the steps looking guilty.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I dropped my trunk down the steps."

Dad waved his wand to turn off the alarms and then lowered. I almost expected him to start yelling at her. I think she did too because she stared back at him nervously. Instead, he burst into laughter and then opened his arms to her. Brenda rushed into them and hugged her, still laughing. The rest of getting over our shock began to laugh too.

"I was just so excited," Brenda said when she pulled away from dad. "I just wanted to be prepared to go. I thought I could get my trunk downstairs but it was heavier than I thought."

"It's okay honey," mum told her. "It's your first day of school. Well, we're all up now. We might as well get breakfast ready. At least we know we won't be late."

"I was up really early last year too," Tasha told Brenda when we were all seated at the table. "It is very exciting. You might even meet your new friends today."

"The one girl I talk to at the robe shop said we'd sit together if we can," Brenda said. "So maybe we will end up friends."

Brianne and Benny kept quiet. Both looked very sleepy as we ate breakfast. They weren't used to being up this early, and both usually needed a lot of sleep. They'd both been up late talking to us about Hogwarts, but we'd expected to sleep in until at least eight. Brenda was the only one who talked a lot that day. I wondered if I'd get some sleep on the train. I likely wouldn't, so it was going to be a long day. At least most of it would be on the train and then at the feast.

Brenda was so antsy to get going that we ended up leaving so early that we were there an hour early. Benny and Brianne both fell asleep in the car. I considered trying the same thing as well. Tasha was looking around the car in amazement for some reason. I didn't understand why since she'd been in them most of her life. We hadn't had one for very long. I finally asked her.

"Well, everyone fits!" She said.

"Well, of course we do," I replied.

"Yes but usually… oh never mind," she said with a shrug. "At least we'll get our pick of compartments. I wonder if the train will even be there yet."

"It usually gets there at about ten," mum told her. "It gives people time to get on since it leaves exactly at eleven. Most people try to get there at least a half hour early though."

"We got there early last year," Tasha said. "What time do you think Nick will be there?"

"Probably last minute," I said. "He said they were last year and they probably will be again. He said we needed to make sure to get a good compartment because of that."

"We definitely will," I said. "And you can have your pick of them too," I added to Brenda. "Make sure you let any first year sit with you. They'll be nervous, so don't turn anyone away."

"I won't," she said. "I hope it is really full. I hope Kendra finds me."

When we got onto the platform, it was to find the train there but it was basically empty. Only a few people were there really early. Tasha and I decided to get a compartment close to the back, while Brenda wanted one closer to the middle. I was relieved by this. She wouldn't be too close to us, and she wouldn't be able to visit too much. She was independent from the start.

Benny and Brianne were still tired. I had a feeling they wouldn't chase the train this time. Both looked as if they just wanted to get back to the car. I think mum noticed this because she told us that they weren't going to stay until the train left that time.

"So let's just say our good-byes now," mum said hugging all three of us.

Dad came over to hug us too.

"Just be on the alert about Sirius Black," he told us. "There have been a few sightings and some have been close to Hogwarts apparently. I didn't want to say this in front of your brother and sister. I don't want them to worry about you lot. Apparently they are stationing Dementors at the entrances. So they must think Sirius might try to go there. So please just be careful. I'm not saying it will be like last year, but if you hear of him being closer to the school, just watch out and stick together. I can't see how he'd get past the Dementors though. I want to talk to you for a moment too Barry," he added. "You two go on the train," he said to Tasha and Brenda.

"One last hug," mum said hugging them.

They hugged Brianne and Benny too and then boarded the train. Brenda had a huge grin on her face. She'd picked out one of her best dresses even though no one would see it off the train. She didn't seem to care though. I watched her rush onto the train before turning back to mum and dad. What else could they say?

"Look, we know you haven't gotten along with your sister lately," dad said. "But please look out for her. You don't need to hover, but just watch out for her."

"I already planned to," I told him. "But I get the feeling she'll be fine. She's more independent than any of us."

"That's why we worry," mum said. "I know you don't want her hanging out with you at school, but if she does need you, don't push her away."

"I'll look out for her," I said. "I promise. I won't tell her to go away unless she is a nuisance."

"And if she isn't Ravenclaw, don't make her feel bad. I know you worry that she might be Slytherin," dad added.

"I'd never do that and some of the Slytherin's in my year are decent. So I know she'll be fine. I invited some of them too, but they said no," I added the last bit in case mum and dad wondered why I hadn't invited them.

Only a few of them were actually decent but we got along. I think at times they were worried about what their housemates would say and it was why they kept to themselves. I did worry Brenda would be like that, but I'd never make her feel bad either.

"Well, hug us again, and we'll see you at Christmas," mum said. "Where are the kids?" She added looking around for Benny and Brianne.

They were leaning against each other a few feet away.

"Benny, Brianne, come say good-bye to your brother and then we are leaving," mum said.

"Mummy, I want to go back to sleep," Benny said as he walked over to hug me.

"You can in a moment," she told him.

Benny didn't often call them mummy or daddy anymore. He'd informed us he was too old for that now. When he was tired though, he almost seemed four again. After dad hugged me, he picked Benny up who laid his head on his shoulder.

"Have fun and write a lot," Brianne told me as she hugged me.

After mum hugged me, I hurried onto the train. When I entered our compartment, it was to find that Philip and Kevin had joined her. I hadn't seen them on the platform so I was surprised. I took a seat beside Tasha and looked out the window. I could see mum and dad walking off.

"Second year," Philip said. "Maybe the older kids won't bug us so much. Maybe we'll finally get to drink."

"Don't count on any of that," I said. "They still bothered the second years last year. I doubt they won't stop until next year or fourth year."

"I just hope we're not on lock down with Sirius Black around," Tasha said. "I get the Daily Prophet now and there have been more sightings and apparently those Dementors things you told me about are going to be on guard."

"Dementors at Hogwarts?" Philip asked. "What are they playing at? They don't care if someone is innocent or not! What if they attack a student."

"What is are Dementors?" Kevin asked.

While Philip explained this, we were soon joined by Ivan, Darren and Nick. I'd been hoping it would just be the three of us but I wasn't going to kick them out either. We all got along so well. Close to eleven, Luna Lovegood peered in our compartment. She looked ready to move on, but Tasha called out to her.

"There's room in here," she told her.

Nick and Philip started shaking their heads at Tasha but she just glared at them.

"There is room," I told Luna. "You can sit here if you want."

"Everywhere else is full," Luna said as she entered. Nick and Ivan stood up to help her put her trunk away. "I don't have to sit here. I know you don't want me to," she continued not sitting down.

"It's fine," Darren told her. "Why wouldn't we want you to sit with us?"

"You don't like me," she said simply.

She took a seat beside me, and then pulled out The Quibbler from her pocket. She opened the magazine and began reading it. Luna was usually truthful when it came to things like that. No one said anything at first, and then the train lurched and then began to move. The talk turned to what second year would be like and who our new Defense teacher would be. After a while, I didn't mind having the compartment full.

Even Luna eventually joined the conversations, amusing us greatly with some of her tall tales. I knew that only Tasha and I appreciated her tales (no matter how odd they were) but no one actually made fun of her that day. Everyone laughed but I thought she actually seemed relaxed with us. Perhaps she simply didn't care what others thought of her. She didn't care that no one believed her about her when it came to non-existent creatures. She just continued on, even when Philip and Nick asked her questions that were clearly sarcastic.

This carried us through even after the Trolley Witch came. We all decided to buy different things but to share everything. We had fun eating our way through Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans. It didn't seem to matter how much I ate them, it was always fun to eat them even though one could often get very disgusting flavours.

"Ugh, that one was earwax!" Tasha said. "Why do some have to be so nasty?"

"Do you have a theory on that?" Nick asked Luna.

"No, they're just candy," Luna said as she popped in a pink bean and then made a disgusted face. "That was salmon."

It started to rain mid-afternoon. We all decided we should change by that point. It was difficult with so many people, so it took longer than it should have. Afterwards, people who had come to my party came to the compartment to say hello. Ginny Weasley even came to talk to later on. By that point it was dark, and the lanterns had come on. She stood in the doorway telling us about Egypt when for some reason the train started to slow down.

"We can't be there yet," I said. "We still have another hour I think. What's going on?"

The train stopped, and for some reason the lights went out.

"I'd better find my brother," we heard Ginny say.

"Ginny you should sit-" Tasha called out but she'd already gone.

"What is going on?" Nick asked. "Are we broken down?"

"I didn't know it could break down," Darren said. "I always thought it was run by magic."

"There are people coming on the train I think," Tasha said.

"It's the-" Luna began but whatever odd thing she was going to say we didn't hear.

It suddenly got really cold and something in a hood peered into the door that Ginny had left open. I suddenly felt dreadful. I felt worse than I had the year before when we'd heard about Ginny being taken into the Chamber of Secrets. I felt Tasha and Luna shudder against me. It felt too cold to even breathe. All I could think of was Brenda. I wanted to get to her, but I couldn't move. I knew now what it was that was staring in at us. It was a Dementor. It made a rattling sound as it breathed. It was so dark, I couldn't see anyone but I could feel the panic.

And then it was gone and it got warm again, but the lights remained out. I could hear Tasha crying and my thoughts went back to my little sister.

"I have to get to Brenda," I said and I went to stand up but I felt Luna pull me back down.

"Just wait," she said. "Wait until they're gone."

She was still shaking but she didn't my hand go. It wasn't until five minutes later before the lights went back on. The train slowly started to move again. Luna finally let my hand go.

"Was that what I think it was?" Tasha asked as she wiped her face.

"Yes," I said. "I need to find Brenda."

I was feeling shaky still, but I didn't care. All I cared about was finding my little sister to see if she was okay. In the compartments I passed, most people were scared and pale looking. It took a while before I finally reached her compartment. It was full of first years, some were still crying, others were shaking. The moment our eyes met, Brenda jumped and ran into my arms sobbing.

"It was so awful Barry," she said as she hugged me tightly. "I felt like I could never be happy again."

"I know," I said as I hugged her back just as tightly.

"But what were they doing? Why did they come on the train?" She asked.

"Guess they thought Sirius Black might be on here," I said. "It's the only thing I can think of."

I just didn't understand what they were thinking. It was a train full of kids and they'd let the dreadful things on the train. What if someone had done something stupid and one of them kissed them?

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked her when I finally backed away.

She nodded.

"Then I am going to go back to my compartment," I told her. "Good luck with your sorting."

"Thank you and thank you for coming to me," she said.

"You're my sister," I said. "No matter how much you annoy me I'll always care about you."

I was actually furious with whoever thought it was a good idea to have them search the castle. Surely Dumbledore hadn't authorized it. But then again, why were they stationed at Hogwarts? I was lost in my thoughts on the way back. I barely noticed the people in the corridors. I didn't stop until I reached it. Everyone was still talking about the Dementors when I entered. I took my seat between Luna and Tasha again.

"Is Brenda okay?" Tasha asked.

"Yes, she was just really shaken up. All the first years were," I said. "I can't believe Dumbledore would let this happen!"

"He didn't," Tasha said. "According to the prophet, he put up a fight about it. The Ministry wants them there. I'm sure he'll be upset that they'd searched the train."

"Rather stupid up whoever decided this was okay!" Philip said. "What if someone panicked? Dementors don't care. They just want to kiss someone. I bet a train full of kids was like a feast to them or something. They likely got off on all that fear too."

I was glad when the train finally arrived in Hogsmeade station. I was still feeling quite shaken by the Dementor. I wondered how long it would take before I felt better again. Everyone still looked pale. I think most people felt this way. As we all left the compartment, people were rushing to get off. They all hurried to the horseless carriages that would take us to the castle.

The people in my compartment stuck together. We all went to the same carriage together. It was raining as well, so this didn't help make us feel better. I figured once we ate we'd feel better. At least I hoped so. I was going to have to find out if there was a spell to help when it came to Dementors.

Though we were quiet, other people were talking quite a bit when reached the castle. Someone was even shouting about someone fainting. I thought it sounded like it was Harry Potter, but I wasn't sure. I just didn't understand why someone thought that was funny. Dementors usually made a person relive their worst memories. I couldn't blame him for fainting.

We found Katrina, Samaira and Gretchen sitting close to the end of the table, so we went over and joined them. All three girls looked pale. They began asking about the Dementors and how we'd felt. I tuned out the conversation as I waited for the first years to show up. I just wanted to see my sister be sorted

I wondered if it was the warmth of the Great Hall, but I was starting to feel a lot better by that point. I no longer felt chilled or dreadful. It could also be back to where I wanted to be. As much as I loved my family, it was Hogwarts where I wanted to be. Just knowing that I almost didn't come back made me feel even more happier. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table to see Ginny Weasley looking happy beside her twin brothers Fred and George. If she was okay, I should be. I didn't even want to imagine what she'd been through the year before, and most people didn't know it. I hadn't even told my parents the truth. Hagrid had trusted us after all.

I glanced over at the teachers table now to locate him. He was sitting in his usual chair. He looked extremely happy. He was looking around the Great Hall too, mainly at Gryffindor table for some reason. When our eyes finally met, he smiled and nodded at me before looking back at the Gryffindors. I looked around at the other teachers to see McGonagall and Flitwick were missing. I figured McGonagall was getting the first years, but where was Flitwick? I hoped he hadn't retired. They would have said though, wouldn't they?

There was someone new sitting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts spot. He looked young but really tired. It was hard to judge otherwise. I hoped it wasn't going to be another Lockhart. His robes looked a bit shabby, so that told me he wasn't someone hired just because he was famous. A famous bloke would have money, and they wouldn't look as if they were poor.

I couldn't contemplate this for much longer, because soon the long line of first years were led in. For some reason, it was Flitwick who was bringing them in. So where was McGonagall? I was relieved that Flitwick hadn't gone, but I liked the Transfiguration too. She was a bit stern but otherwise she was a great teacher and she could be understanding as well.

I looked down the line of first years to find Brenda. She was standing between two girls pointing up at the cieling. She was still quite pale, but I didn't know if that was from the Dementors or from nerves about the sorting. At least she'd already found some friends. Around me, everyone stopped their conversations.

"There is Brenda!" Tasha whispered beside me and I nodded to acknowledge I heard her.

Brenda was looking around the Great Hall now, and her eyes fell on me. She gave me a nervous smile and a small wave, so I waved back. Moments later, the hat began to sing but it was a different song from the one it had the year before. The hat must have come up with different songs every year or something.

One by one afterwards, each student went up. I clapped for each Ravenclaw who went. Finally, it was down to my sister. She hurried over and climbed on the stool and the pulled the hat onto her head looking eager. I couldn't see her face afterwards because it fell over her face. It sat on her head for what seemed to be a minute before it shouted out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

Brenda jumped off the stool, pulled off the hat and gave it to Flitwick and then ran over to the table. Tasha, Nick and I clapped the hardest. Brenda went straight to a girl, and I noticed it was the one that had been in the robe shop with her. I was so happy that she had friends. Not only so she wouldn't annoy me too much, but she truly did need people her own age around. Maybe having some friends would calm her down and she'd be back to that girl she used to be. I thought there was already some signs of it.

When the sorting was over, I noticed McGonagall appeared. She must have been doing something else, but I was relieved she was back too. I sat back relaxed now. My sister was sorted and my favourite teachers were still there. Second year had to be a lot better than my first year.

Dumbledore stood up to give the usual term announcements. He began with the Dementors and I noticed right away the unhappy tone in his voice. So it was true that he didn't like having them there anymore than we did. So it was definitely the Ministry's decision. He warned us all not to do anything that could upset the Dementors, which I thought should have been common sense. It was the same as trying to pet a manticore or something.

He moved onto introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as Professor Lupin. He didn't get much of an applause but I knew it was because we were all still thinking about Lockhart. We would all serve judgment for when we had classes with him. He made a surprising announcement after that though. He announced that Hagrid was the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher! The Great Hall burst into applause with this.

"That man as a teacher?" Philip asked with disgust once we all started to eat.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick asked angrily. "I've known him since I was a kid. My parents were friends with him!"

"Oh come on Nick," Katrina said. "He is nice and all but he won't be a good teacher. I mean, we talked to him a few times last year when we were outside," she said indicating herself, Gretchen and Samaira, "but he won't be any good. You're just biased because he is your friend. He should just stay as Gameskeeper."

"We should wait until he has taught some classes to really judge," Tasha said. "I mean, he is really good with animals and all. Dumbledore wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't best for the job."

"Well," I said knowing that Nick and Tasha would get angry with me. "He did hire Lockhart and we all know how he turned out."

Sure enough, Nick glared over at me.

"So you agree with them?" He asked hotly.

"It's not that I agree with them," I said. "We don't know how he will be like. You know I like Hagrid but we can't say he's okay just because Dumbledore decided. I'll wait until I hear from the older students before I decide. That being said, it won't change my opinion on him as a person Nick, so you can stop glaring at me. I think Garth still has Care of Magical Creatures, so I will ask him."

"Relax mate," Ivan added. "You can like someone without thinking they are a good teacher."

"I suppose," Nick said but he still looked annoyed as he ate.

The feast as usual was really good. I glanced down at my sister at times. She was eating and talking to the other first years. Some looked annoyed with her, and I wondered what it was she could have said to annoy them. I'd have to try and meet up with up the next day. I wanted to know why her sorting took forever. There wouldn't be time that night.


	9. Second Year Part Three

The next day, we had Defense first, so we'd able to find out if Lupin was a good teacher right away. While I was in the middle of eating, Brenda came over to sit beside me. I was surprised. I figured she'd with her friends but I didn't mind as long as it wouldn't be an everyday thing. I was curious about her sorting after all.

"Feel better from yesterday?" I asked her and she nodded.

"I'm so excited for my classes," she said. "Once we got inside, I felt better. We have Potion's first today. I dunno if I'll like it cause of all the stories you had about Snape."

"Just don't mouth him off and you'll be fine," Philip told her.

"I'd never do that to a teacher!" Brenda said looking scandalized. "You have to respect teachers no matter what!"

Darren snorted while some of the other second years started to laugh. Brenda sent them a glare but she didn't say anything.

"So what happened with your sorting?" I asked her. "It took a long time."

"Well it couldn't decide where to put me," she answered. "I told it Ravenclaw and it said it saw a lot of Ravenclaw in me, but it also said I'd do well in Hufflepuff and I said absolutely not and then it actually brought up Slytherin and I told it I'd take Hufflepuff over Slytherin, but I didn't want either of those houses so it actually brought up Gryffindor!" And she looked annoyed by this. "And I told it, well Hoofers belong in Ravenclaw and I wouldn't be happy anywhere else! I told it could see that in my head and so in the end, it decided Ravenclaw! I can't believe it did that to me! It's just a dumb hat anyway! It tried all four houses!"

"Oh poor you," Gretchen said with a smirk. "It saw all four houses in you! What a tragedy!"

"It should have only saw Ravenclaw in me! Why does everyone act like I shouldn't be upset by this!?"

"Because you shouldn't be," I said noticing the annoying attitude had returned. For once I agreed with Gretchen. "Do you know how rare it is for the hat to see all four houses in you? It doesn't happen often. Most of the time it just sees one for two, it's odd when it it sees three? But all four? You could be in all four houses and you'd be fine! You got to be where you want to be, so I don't know why you're complaining."

"You don't get it," Brenda said annoyed. "None of you do!"

She picked her plate up, and walked over to where the first years were sitting. Some looked annoyed with her, but they all greeted her anyway. Only her friend from the shop looked happy to see her.

"Looks like old Brenda is back," Nick said. "Guess that didn't last long."

"She's always like that?" Samaira asked me.

"She has her moments," I said not wanting to insult her in front of them. I could complain about her to Tasha and Nick, but I didn't want to bad mouth her in front of the others.

I wanted to think that her attitude was down to nervousness. I didn't say anything else until we were done, and then I turned to Tasha and Nick.

"We should get going," I said. "See what this Lupin bloke is all about."

So the three of us stood up and headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. On the way, we talked about him. I wasn't the only one to have noticed his shabby robes. When he entered the classroom, it was to find him sitting behind his desk already. He smiled when we took a seat close to the front and then greeted us.

Once the rest of the class joined us, he stood up and smiled.

"I've heard you lot have some catching up to do," he said still smiling. "So this term, we will be learning some basic hexes and jinxes and some dark creatures as well. I will try to catch you up to your level and then after Christmas, we should be up to second year level. So take out your quills to write down these basic hexes and then we will practice them," he told us.

He pointed his wand at the black board and some hexes appeared on it. A few were like the boil curse, ones we knew from word of mouth and others I'd seen in my book. One was even the shield charm.

I was impressed already and looking around, I noticed my classmates were as well. Once we'd copied them down, he moved all the desks back with a wave of his wand.

"Please only use the hexes I teach you," he told us. "If you know of some that we should learn, let me know and we can practice them. Now, I have an antidote here for the boil hex. First, we are going to learn the shield charm and we'll move from there."

"Will we be learning to duel sir?" Kevin asked excitedly.

"I'll teach you basic duelling," he told him. "Remember these are to only be used in Defense. Today, we will work on the shield charm, the disarming charm and the boil curse. Please do not use anything else besides that. Now break off into pairs."

It was a fun lesson in Defense for once. Not one person disobeyed and used any other curse we weren't supposed to use. Well spent at least ten minutes on each spell. Most people could do the boil hex, but a lot of people had a hard time with the shield charm and the disarming one. Some could from the practice last year with Lockhart, but others hadn't bothered after that first lesson.

By the end of the lesson I could do all three. Our homework was to describe each and to practice the shield and disarming charms.

"Please do not use the boil hex unless you're in my classroom as I have the antidote here," he told us. "I know that seems contradictory to tell you this as we learned it today, but it's not meant to be abused. It's meant to be used in Defense and that's it."

Most people could do that one anyway, but I figured some people wouldn't care about that. They'd use it anyway, and try to blame it on homework or something. I hoped it wouldn't get Lockhart in trouble. I said this to Nick and Tasha on our way to the next class.

"But you could say that about anything we learn," Nick replied. "Not all the potions we make are safe. Someone could slip something in someones drink. That wouldn't be Snape's fault. I could try to Tranfigure something of yours and it wouldn't be McGonagall's fault. It will be the student that gets blamed, not the teacher. He's supposed to be teaching us this stuff."

"That's true," I said. "I like him, so I don't want to see him get canned. We're actually learning for once."

"It was a good lesson," Tasha said. "I can't wait to learn more about dark creatures."

"Me too," I said. "Maybe he'll help us learn how to keep the Dementors away."

"That should be a requirement," Nick said. "I mean, there has to be a spell or something to do it. Do you think there is one in that book you bought?"

"Ah, so now you want to look at my book?" I asked amused. "I thought I was a nerd."

"Next think you know, he is going to want to read my Hogwarts, A History."

"That thing has ten thousand pages!" Nick retorted. "I'll need need the cliff notes. You can write them for me, Tasha."

"No, I don't think so," she said. "And it doesn't have ten thousand pages in it. You know it covers a thousand years."

"How are you going to read the whole thing?" He asked her.

"I will when I can," she said. "It's mainly for me to look things up so that I don't have to ask. You'd have been happy if I had it last year."

"If it has anything about how to pass all the classes without studying I'll be happy," he said.

"Good luck with that one," I said. "You'd have to retain information instantly. You'd have to be Hermione Granger."

"She's cute," he said. "Maybe I'll ask her for help."

"Go ahead but you can't talk to any girl besides me," Tasha said.

"Maybe it's time I learn then," he said with a wink. "And she could teach me enough to get me through second year."

Tasha just snorted and rolled her eyes. I would have liked to see him try and ask for homework help. He wouldn't do it though. He got nervous around girls who weren't in our house. I'd noticed lately that he was getting nervous around Samaira. A lot of the boys seemed a bit odd around the girls since my party, but just that morning when she'd accidentally touched him at breakfast he'd stuttered. I'd considered taking the mickey out of him, but I thought better of it. Lately, my mind had been wandering back to Olivia. I didn't want him bother me if it turned out I actually liked her.

As we got used to being second years, I noticed it wasn't all that different from the year before. The work was a little harder, but that was it. Some of the older students still picked on us though. Things were basically the same though. There was the exception with Brenda being at school too, but she kept her promise and stayed away from me. She hung out with her friend Kendra all the time. She didn't talk to the other first years. I noticed they didn't even sit with the others. It made me think she'd said something that angered them. At least she had one friend though.

That year, Snape to even be in a worse mood. Although, perhaps that had to do with what happened in Lupin's third year class. Apparently one of the Gryffindor boys was terrified of Snape to the point that he was his worst fear. Boggarts were creatures that turned into your worst fear. So when the Boggart confronted the boy, it turned into Snape. In order to get rid of one, you have to make it funny because laughter makes them go away. The boy made Boggart Snape wear some old lady clothes which included a purse. The story got around the school naturally.

So now in classes, he was absolutely horrible. It was very hard for me to not say anything to him. I hated letting someone walk all over me, but he was a teacher and I couldn't lose points. So I just stared back at him with defiance.

"Seems your sister is as much of a show off as you are," he said one day. "I suppose I'll have to deal with that with all the Hoofer's starting here."

I hated it when others said things about Brenda, even if she annoyed me.

"Watch what you say about my sister," I snapped.

"Let me guess, your entire family shows off, don't they?" He asked.

"Being smart doesn't make you a show off!" I retorted. "You wouldn't know that of course."

"Really? Well why don't we discuss it further in detention later? You can come back here and scrub all the tables!" He said to me and made to move off before turning back to me. "Oh and fifteen points from Ravenclaw."

"Barry," Tasha groaned.

"Well he should be allowed to bully a student!" I said furiously. "And I don't like when people say things about my sister! I don't care, I am talked to Flitwick. I am tired of him singling me out! He can't just provoke a student and then give the a detention. If it doesn't work with Flitwick then I'm going to Dumbledore. I'm not letting that man let me lose my chance for that badge!"

So later that day, I waited until the end of Charms to talk to Flitwick. I was still angry, and so I hadn't really joined in conversations with my friends that day.

"Professor Snape gave me detention for later today," I told Flitwick the moment I approached his desk.

"Yes, he sent me a note about it," Flitwick squeaked. "You'll have to do the detention Mr. Hoofer."

"But he provokes people!" I said. "He has always hated me and I've done nothing to him. He shouldn't be insulting my sister! I can usually ignore him but today he went too far. I'll do the detention, but I shouldn't lose my chance at that prefect badge because of him!"

"Detentions aren't the only things we take into consideration Mr. Hoofer," Flitwick said with a small smile. "We watch for many things over the years. It also depends on how you interact with your fellow students, the younger years, your grades and many other things. You do need to make sure you don't give teachers cheek, however, we teachers do know how some Professor Snape can be. I will talk to him if you'd like, but you do still have to serve the detention."

"He shouldn't get away with that!" I said. "All I did was make a good potion!"

For the rest of the day, I dreaded my detention with Snape. I had to go right after dinner. It was going to cut into my homework time. I figured he'd spend the entire time insulting me. However, when I got down there, he informed me I'd be scrubbing all the tables with no magic. He then ignored me while he sat at his desk. Perhaps he'd just been hoping to get me into detention since the day we met. Maybe this satisfied him enough.

Shortly after eight, he came over as I scrubbing the last desk.

"That is enough for tonight, Hoofer," he told me. "I hope from now on, you will think twice before giving me cheek."

"I will sir," I mutttered and then I turned on my heel quickly to leave.

When I left the dungeon room, it was to find Brenda waiting for me right by the door.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked her.

"What are you doing in detention?" She retorted. "Why would you mouth off a teacher!?"

"He insulted you!" I said.

"You should learn to control your temper! You should not be getting yourself in detention," she snapped. "He says things to me sometimes too, but guess what? I don't say a word!"

"Guess what? I went a year without saying a word," I said angrily. "You've been here a few weeks. Wait a bit longer. Who do you think you are lecturing me anyway? I'm the older brother here!"

"And you should be setting a better example for me!" She said.

"Oh shut up," I said. "Just mind your own damn business Brenda."

"Well don't complain when you're not prefect!" She said in a snide tone.

"It won't affect that," I said and I explained what Flitwick had told me.

"Well then you're lucky, but you'd better watch it. I bet you have a strike against you," she said.

"How did you even find out anyway?" I asked her.

"I saw Nick and Tasha without you. I wondered where you were and they told me. So I came straight down here," she told me.

"Yeah well, from now on skip the lectures. You're not mum and dad. I don't plan to get in detention again, but if I do, just stay out of it!" I said angrily.

She just shrugged. "Sorry for being concerned."

"You're not concerned," I told her.

We didn't say anything else as we walked up the steps that would take us to the Entrance Hall. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She had that infuriating look of satisfaction she usually wore after lecturing someone. So much for changing.

"I'll show you a shortcut," I told her once we were at the top of the steps from the Entrance Hall. "We found it last year on our first day."

"Is it allowed?" She asked with folded arms.

"Of course it's allowed," I said. "They expect you to use them. They just don't want you using the ones that get you out of the castle. I don't even know where those are anyway."

"Well don't bother trying to find them," she told me.

I gritted my teeth. She was going to drive me mad. It had been too much to ask that she'd leave me alone. She'd left me alone at first, but it hadn't lasted long.

"I notice you only hang out with Kendra," I finally said as I showed her the entrance way to the passage. "You don't talk to the other firsties."

"They're annoying and immature," she answered. "I don't want to talk to them. They're too sensitive too. They hate the truth. Besides, they play wizards tag!"

"So? We played it sometimes last year," I said.

"Then you're immature too, but I guess I can't expect more from you. You're almost thirteen Barry. Grow up."

"Oh shut up!" I said. "You know what? Find the rest of the way back!"

And I hurried up the steps and ignored her calls for me to come back. I didn't think it was possible, but she was worse. I regretted getting into detention for her. I was taller than her and faster, so she wasn't able to catch up and soon enough, I couldn't even hear her anymore. I didn't stop until I reached the door to get into Ravenclaw tower. She asked the question, and I gave the answer then hurried inside. I saw Tasha and Nick sitting by the small library, so I headed over to them.

"Brenda went looking for you," Tasha told me once I sat down.

"I know," I said still feeling bad-tempered and I told them everything.

"Yes, she started lecturing us about letting you," Nick said. "Told her we can't control you and she just glared at me. Then she walked off."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. She just needs to stay away from me," I said. "Let's just do that Potion's assignment. Don't feel like getting in more trouble from Snape."

About five minutes later, Brenda stormed over to me angrily.

"Thanks for leaving me! Peeves found me and he throw ink at me!" She said angrily and she showed me her right arm which had ink on it. I just shrugged.

"Oh well," I said. "Just stay away from me at school."

"Gladly!" She said and then she stomped over to her only friend.

I noticed when she passed the group of first year girls, they all glared at her.

"Bitch," I muttered.

Normally when we swore, Tasha would scold us but for once she didn't. I think she realized I was too angry at the moment. She just glanced at Nick and then shrugged.

"So what was the main potion ingredient?" Nick asked.

I wasn't sure if Flitwick had actually talked to Snape, or if putting me in detention satisfied him enough, but after that day he kept quiet around me. He just peered into my cauldron in class, sneered and then moved on. I was relieved about this as I'd dreaded the next class after that detention. Apparently he was too busy bullying the boy, Neville Longbottom to care about anyone else anyway. I felt bad for the boy. Supposedly he was already a timid kid as it was.

Brenda also kept her distance from me. Though she did write home to complain about me. I only knew because mum and dad wrote me back. Snape hadn't told them about my detention. I didn't find out until a couple days later when I got a letter back. They told me to watch my temper around him and to just ignore Brenda, and they'd told her to just let me be as well. I wasn't all that surprised that she would write home and complain about me.

One Saturday morning, at the end of September, we went out to visit Hagrid. We hadn't yet that year but Nick was eager to get down there. We'd heard that his teaching wasn't going too well. Apparently a third year Slytherin boy had been attacked by a Hippogriff in his first class. Nick had wanted to go down right away, but we hadn't had the chance until that day.

"I just hate that those idiots in our house are happy about it," Nick muttered as we headed down to his hut. "It's like they want him to fail."

"I think that they want to be right," Tasha replied. "I do hope he is okay though. I'm just glad he wasn't fired."

"Looney Lovegood said he should have been," Nick said angrily. "And you claim she is nice!"

"She's only stating her opinion," I said.

"Well, it's wrong," Nick retorted.

Once we reached his hut, Nick knocked on the door. There was no point in arguing with Nick. Of course we had no idea what had happened and I didn't want Hagrid fired, but if he wasn't a good teacher, he might have been better off as just the Gameskeeper. I wasn't going to say this though. It took a few moments before Hagrid answered the door. He smiled down at us, but I thought it looked fake.

"All righ' yeh three?" He asked. "Come on in. Was wonderin' when I'd see you."

"We've had a bigger homework load this year," Tasha explained. "How are things?"

Hagrid looked as if he were ready to tear up. He walked over to his table and sat down. We followed him in and shut the door behind us.

"Are you drinking?" Tasha asked as she sat beside him.

"What happened with the Hippogriff?" Nick demanded. "We heard what happened. You're not going to be sacked are you?"

"Nah, Dumbledore spoke up fer me," he answered with a sigh.

"Well that's good then," I said as I sat down. "So why do you seem down?"

Hagrid just gave a small shrug and then asked how second year was going instead. He didn't seem as if he wanted to talk about it, but I wanted to know how exactly the student was attacked. Hippogriffs usually didn't attack unless they felt threatened or in someone insulted them. I waited to bring this up after we'd each told him about our classes and everything. He asked me about Brenda who hadn't gone to visit him yet. I didn't expect her to though. She looked down on him, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I just told him she was really busy adjusting.

"So how did that kid get attacked?" I finally asked. "They don't attack unless they feel threatened or if you insult them."

"The Malfoy boy insulted him," Hagrid answered.

"Well that explains it then," Tasha said. "The more I hear about him, the more I dislike him. It wasn't your fault at all then Hagrid."

"Lucius Malfoy isn't please," Hagrid said. "He's fightin' it and I 'spect him to win. He's got money after all. He'd been talkin' to the school governors."

"He's trying to get your fired?" Nick asked indignantly.

Hagrid nodded.

"But Malfoy insulted it," I said. "Even the school governors have to see that."

"Lucius Malfoy will bully 'em I 'spect. It's how Dumbledore got suspended yeh know," Hagrid answered.

"But he got fired," I said. "Dad told me. Surely they won't want to listen."

"When money's talkin' they'll listen," Hagrid replied. "But let's not talk about it no more."

I figured I'd write to my father later. Maybe he'd have some answers. I was hating the Malfoy family more and more however.


	10. Second Year Part Four

One evening in early October, I was in the library on my own. Tasha was hanging out with the girls and Nick was off with the boys in our house. They still didn't study as intensely as I did. I was glad when they left me to it instead of complaining. Even though Flitwick had told me that I was still in line for the badge, I felt I needed to make up for that detention anyway.

I was so into my work, I didn't notice anyone join me. I jumped when someone started talking. I looked up to see that Olivia had joined me. She was smiling at me. Ever since school had started, she'd smile and wave at me. She hadn't come over to talk to me however until that moment.

"I'm not bothering you am I?" She asked.

"Oh no it's okay," I said. "I could use a little break. How are you? I haven't talked to you since my party. You must be glad to be back."

"Oh yes, I missed this place so much. My mum and dad tried to make a case about Sirius Black, but I can throw a temper tantrum when I need to. I wanted to be back, and I told them they weren't pulling me out again or I would just refuse to come home for Christmas and Easter. I told them I'd just find a way to come school anyway," she told me with a grin.

"What did they say to that?" I asked her with surprise. I didn't know how my parents would react if I told them that. They wouldn't be pleased.

"They were upset of course, and they told me I shouldn't threaten them. They also said they didn't want me to be unhappy though. So they said I could come back but to just be careful and follow all the rules. I'm not to go out at night, and they'd better not hear I did," she replied with a shrug. "I don't want to miss out on being here. It was so boring at home."

"I imagine it would be. I always can't wait to get to school even on holidays. I love seeing my family, but ever since I came here, I just want to be here. I was glad they didn't close the school last year," I said. "I hope nothing like that happens again."

"What are you working on right now?" Olivia asked. "I'm way ahead on my school work."

"I am too," I said. "I'm just studying ahead. I want nothing else but to be prefect. I need great marks and I had a detention last month."

"I heard about that," she said. "I think it's awful that Snape was picking on you. He ignores us. He did say he expected I'd be behind when I first came back. He was surprised when he found out that I wasn't."

"I don't doubt it," I said. "Want to study with me? I'm getting ahead with Transfiguration right now."

"Ooh sure," she said happily. "You know, I've wanted to talk to you since we got back. Maybe we can hang out more if you'd like."

"Sure," I answered wondering what she meant by that.

Did she want to hang out as friends or something more? It just seemed so random to me. I also didn't see her hanging out with other blokes. She spent her time with some Hufflepuff girls. She likely talked to the boys in her house maybe in classes or the common room. I decided it was best to clarify.

"So, you're meaning we hang out as friends or-" I began.

Olivia blushed and then grinned even more.

"Well, I was hoping maybe more than friends? I mean I like you a lot. I have since last year but I didn't think you noticed me. You told me at your party that you're glad I came back. So I hoped that meant you liked me too," she responded

I hadn't considered that of course, but she was cute and she had been on my mind a lot lately. So I returned her grin.

"I'd like that very much," I told her. "You know it's usually the bloke who asks."

"Well, the Witch Weekly said that girls need to be bold," she told me. "And you hadn't said anything so I thought I'd try. I've just been working up the nerve since we came back. I saw you alone, so I thought I'd take advantage. I figured if you said no… well, we don't see each other much."

"There is truth to that," I said. "I like your confidence. I just felt nervous asking you what you meant, but I thought it was best to ask. I was hoping that's what you meant."

"Well, I was nervous too, so that makes two of us," she replied. "I suppose that's normal right? Especially at our age."

"I don't think it goes away at any age," I said. "I've heard some of the older guys talk and they still get nervous too. So do the girls for that matter. Likely it's something that never goes away with new people."

"Too bad we are still too young for Hogsmeade though," she said. "We could go there."

"Well, we'll figure something out later," I said.

"Exactly! So let's work on Transfiguration for now. Maybe on Saturday we can have a picnic!" She said excitedly.

Later that evening, I walked her to the Hufflepuff common room. I'd always wondered where the other common rooms were. I knew Gryffindor was in another tower somewhere, but I just didn't know which one. When we paused outside her common room (which had barrels you had to knock on) we both smiled at each other awkwardly. I decided it should be me who did something. She'd basically asked me out, so I should make a move. So I leaned in to kiss her. I was thankful when she returned it. We kissed for a few minutes before someone shouted:

"Ooh Ickle firties kissing. How sweet!"

We broke apart to see two sixth year boys grinning at each other. I didn't bother to correct him that we were actually second years. I felt too embarrassed.

"Um, I'll see you later," I told her.

"Yes, talk to you tomorrow," she said.

I turned and hurried down the corridor. The sixth year boys shouted after me. I began to run, and I didn't stop until I reached the entrance to my own common room. I was kind of in a daze, so when I was asked a question, I couldn't answer right away. I had to knock again to hear it again before I could give an answer. I entered and looked around the common room for Tasha and Nick. I found them playing chess together.

"Get ahead on getting ahead?" Nick asked.

"Uh huh," I answered still feeling dazed.

"What's up with you?" Tasha asked as Nick's piece took one of hers out. "You look funny."

"I have a girlfriend now," I said.

I didn't see the point in hiding it from them. Nick and Tasha stared. They looked at each other and then back at me.

"A girlfriend?" Nick finally asked. "What do you mean a girlfriend? Like another girl that's a friend?"

"No, I mean a girlfriend," I said. "As in you know, dating."

"But you're twelve," Tasha said with annoyance. "Twelve-year-olds don't date."

"They do so," Nick said. "What planet do you live on?"

"On a planet where we're too young," she responded.

"We are not too young," I said. "People date at our age. I know my parents did. I am too. Olivia from Hufflepuff is my girlfriend now. We just talked about it in the library. She said she liked me even last year too, but she thought I didn't know her cause you know, she had to leave. We met up again at my party and she's wanted to talk to me since."

"So she asked you out?" Nick asked and he laughed. "You couldn't even ask her out."

"I kissed her. I made the move to kiss her," I replied. "Besides, I am the one with the girlfriend. Who cares how it started."

"You kissed," Nick state.

Their game of chess seemed to be forgotten now. The pieces were shouting at them to resume the game, but neither were paying attention. Tasha looked upset for some reason and I didn't understand why.

"Do you mean on the lips?" Nick whispered.

I nodded.

Nick's mouth dropped open.

"What was it like?" He asked.

"Seemed very nice," I said.

"Very nice?" Nick asked.

"Well I dunno how to explain it. I really enjoyed it… well until some sixth years started making fun of. It was awkward afterwards. We said we'd hang out tomorrow," I said.

"Wow," Nick said. "Guess I'm not that surprised. A lot of girls fancy you. I've heard them talk about it."

"Me too," Tasha said but she still looked upset. "Well, good for you I suppose."

"You don't seem to mean it," I said.

"I'm just shocked," she answered looking away. "I just didn't think any of us would date anyone at our age."

"I need a girlfriend," Nick said with jealousy.

"You need to talk to girls first," I said. "Maybe you could talk to Samaira more."

"She's is very beautiful but I don't think she likes me," Nick said.

"She does like you but-" Tasha began.

"She does?" Nick interrupted.

"Well yes, but don't you think you're a bit young?" Tasha asked.

"No," Nick said firmly. "Maybe you feel too young but I don't and neither does Barry. Don't date if you don't like it but don't bother us," and then he turned to me. "Do you think I should ask her?"

"If she likes you then you have nothing to lose," I told him with a shrug. "I think you should."

Tasha looked annoyed still but she didn't say another word against it. I wondered why she upset about it. Why did it matter so much? I wanted my friends to be happy, so why couldn't she feel the same way?

The boys in my dorm made fun of me about Olivia, but I thought it was jealousy. I was sure that they wished they had girlfriends too. Nick didn't do anything about Samaira right away even though I thought it was clear she liked him. Once people found out about Olivia and me, she started to smile at him a lot more. In fact, many girls started to smile at certain boys more and I figured it was because they fancied them.

"We seem to be starting a trend," I said to Olivia a week after we'd started dating.

Though a lot of people didn't make moves, there was now a couple in Slytherin and Colin Creevey of all people asked a girl in Hufflepuff out. Everyone was surprised when she said yes. This annoyed Nick and Philip. Neither could believe that he'd get a girlfriend before them.

"I don't think it's a trend. I think we just made it easier for everyone else to admit they like someone," she said.

"I just wish Nick would," I said. "It's obviously Samaira likes him, but he still won't do anything about it. The only one who isn't happy is Tasha. Not sure why that would be."

"You really don't know?" Olivia asked with raised eyebrows.

"No," I answered. "Why? Do you?"

"I'm not saying it. It's up to her to. Well… I hope she doesn't. Don't worry about it. She'll be fine," Olivia said. "Let's just go out to the lake. It's a bit chilly today so no one will be out there I bet. We can be on our own a bit."

"No sixth years at least," I replied.

We'd been very careful to hide when we kissed. We didn't want anymore people to make fun of us. I was just glad she wasn't too embarrassed about it. Olivia had pretended the next day that it hadn't happened, and so I didn't mention it either. It was just an unspoken agreement to hide and kiss. That was the first time either of us had brought it up.

"Exactly," she said with a grin. "I bet those boys were just jealous anyway. They're both single. They probably just don't like that second years were kissing and they aren't."

"First years," I reminded her. "Remember? They thought we were first years."

"Oh right," she said and giggled. "So that makes it worse for them. Some of the older kids have never even kissed before you know. Maybe they haven't."

I liked hanging out with Olivia. She seemed to have a good sense of humour and we always talked non-stop when we were together. We didn't run out of things to say. It was never awkward and I figured that had to be a good sign. I thought I was very lucky with my first girlfriend. I didn't know how first relationships went of course, but I thought mine was probably one of the good ones. I would have to ask dad or Garth later.

My parents knew I had a girlfriend and they were happy for me. Mum thought it was cute which annoyed me but neither seemed to think I was too young. I figured if anyone would say we were too young, it would be them. So I didn't know why Tasha felt that way. Maybe because out of the three of us that she was the youngest.

One night, a few days before Halloween, I went to Garth to ask about girlfriends at my age. He was seventeen and although I hadn't seen with a girl, I was sure he had to know something about girls. I still didn't feel comfortable talking to my other cousins, so I went to him. I found him just walking up to our common room, so I hurried after him.

"Hey mate," he said once he spotted me. "Brenda is a nightmare you know."

"Believe me I know," I said. "I told her to stay away from me for now on."

"I should try that. She's been nagging me. She's lecturing me on I should have worked harder the last six years since I wasn't made Head boy this year. There is no way anyone can work harder than Percy Weasley. I told her that and she just rolled her eyes. I knew she'd be annoying," he said.

He gave the answer to the question at the entrance. When we entered, I followed him over to his usual table. Thankfully his friends weren't around. I don't know how he managed to be so popular, but he was. He got along with people in the fifth year and older. I only knew people in my year.

"But you didn't come to me to talk about her," he said once we were both sitting down.

"No," I said. "I have a girlfriend now."

"Good for you mate! At your age? That's quite an achievement but don't expect it to last. I did have a girlfriend at that age too but it only last a couple months. It's not serious at twelve," he said.

"It seems to be for me," I said.

"It usually does," he said. "But what's the problem then?"

"I just have some questions," I said. "I have no complaints so far but I'd like to talk to someone anyway. Dad is so far away and I don't want to put it in a letter. I just want your opinion on some things is all."

"Well ask away then little cuz," he said.

So I told him my thoughts and feelings on the matter. Garth kept quiet while I explained our relationship to him, and even Tasha's thoughts on the matter.

"Well, it sounds like you're one of the lucky ones," he said. "My first girlfriend got so clingy. I wasn't allowed to hang out with my friends after a while. I've always been friendly with most of my year too you know. She'd go mad when I talked to other girls. So I had to dump her. You know, you're going to have more girlfriends besides Olivia and they're going to get jealous of Tasha. You know I hang out with Penelope. Her and me have never been anything but friends and other that fleeting moment I told you about, I didn't really see her that way. She hated when we talked to each other. When I did break up with her, she threw a fit right in the middle of the Great Hall. It was so embarrassing. I thought I'd never want to date again."

"But you did?" I asked.

"Four months or so after that," Garth said with a shrug. "And you're at that age when you're always going to notice other girls. I told you about how I was like. Well, even with girlfriends I still noticed them. Well, I still do but I handle it a lot better than I used to. Before I'd stare right at them, so I suppose I couldn't get too angry with Jenny for getting jealous, but I'd never cheat."

"I do still notice other girls," I said thinking about Cho Chang. Tasha had caught me staring at her again just the night before.

Thinking of Tasha, I decided to remind him of her.

"And what do you think of Tasha's attitude?"

"Well either she fancies either you or Nick, she is truthful when she says you're too young or she is jealous," Garth said.

"It has be the last two," I said. "She sees us as brothers."

"Well then either find out if other blokes like her or just her be," Garth replied. "But another thing you should realize is that some girls will try to make you choose between Tasha and them."

"Well it will always be Tasha," I said.

"I hope you always remember that," Garth said. "Some blokes don't."

"I'll never be that kind," I said. "She's basically my first friend. So do you have a girlfriend right now then?"

"Sixth year in Gryffindor," he replied. "Don't know how long it will last though. I mean, this is my last year and she's okay but I can't imagine being with her forever."

"Should you at your age? You're just seventeen."

"Thomas did. He married his Hogwarts sweetheart. Actually, they're expecting their first baby. The Hoofer family Christmas should be interesting this year. They're the first of us to have kids."

"We didn't go last year," I said.

"Expect to this year," Garth said. "Everyone's going to be going crazy."

"I dunno even know how much longer we can have these big Christmases once everyone of us has kids," I said.

"I said the same thing," Garth replied. "And most of us are going out of school. Soon it's just going to be you lot left. Hard to believe honestly."

"What's hard to believe?" Someone asked.

I looked over to see Brenda had walked over. She pulled out a chair and sat down. I sighed but I didn't say anything. So far I'd been lucky not to have to have to talk her. My luck had run out. She was probably going to lecture us or something. I wondered if she even knew I had a girlfriend.

"That you lot are going to be the last Hoofer's soon," Garth answered.

"Oh," she said. "Well yes, I suppose that is true. It's just us and Sam. Your brother won't even talk to me you know."

"He doesn't talk to me either," I said. "Neither of them do."

"So it's nothing personal then," Brenda said.

"Nope," I replied. "So what do you want?"

"I saw you two talking so I thought I'd come over," she said and then she frowned at me. "You know, I had to hear from Freddy that you have a girlfriend. He's in Hufflepuff. How is it that I hear from someone in Hufflepuff in my year?"

"I dunno," I said with a shrug. "Guess we're a topic of conversation in Hufflepuff house? She's in that house after all."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Brenda asked.

"Because you pissed me off," I replied. "Don't boss me around and maybe I'll talk to you more."

"Same goes for me," Garth said. "I'm seventeen and I'm a seventh year. I don't need a first year bossing me around. I mean, you'll be a seventh year when Sam is in first and Benny is in second. How would you feel if they bossed you around?"

"I guess I can see your point," Brenda said. "Sorry, It's just I thought you wanted to be Head Boy."

"I did, but Percy Weasley did better and he got it," Garth said.

"And think about when Brianne comes to school," I added. "You won't like it if she confronts you the way you did to me. I mean, I can't see you getting detention but if you do? I bet you'd be angry if you left detention only to find her there to scold you and to boss you around."

"I never thought about it that way," Brenda said slowly.

"Well here is some advice," Garth began. "Next time you feel like bossing someone older around, think about you'd feel if someone younger does it to you."

"Reason why we don't talk to you," I heard.

I turned shocked to see that Chester and Ralph had joined us. It was the first time that all the Hoofer cousins had talked since I'd started school. It would likely be the last time too.

"Why didn't you talk to me then?" I asked.

"Nothing personal," Chester said with a shrug. "But you don't talk to us either."

"I can't argue with that one," I said. "But this is the first time we've all talked since I came."

"Well we don't really hang out with Garth either," Ralph told me. "We kind of keep to ourselves. It is true that all the B Hoofer's will be here. You'll be what? In the sixth year when Benny starts?"

"Seventh," I said. "Benny's birthday was at the end of September."

"How is he now? Seven then?" Chester asked.

"Yes, he just turned seven and Brianne is nine now," I said.

"But she'll be bragging about how she'll be ten soon," Brenda said. "She started around November last year. She gets excited about her birthday way too early."

"And like I said last Christmas, you did as well as well until you were about ten," I said. "You'd start even sooner than her. You started as soon as I had my birthday and yours is in April. You can't complain about Benny or Brianne doing those things because you did it as well. You're no better than they are."

"Well, you did it too!" Brenda said folding her arms.

"But I've never bitched and complained about it," I told her. "I just grew out of it as you did and they will too eventually."

"Whatever," she said.

"And you'd better not be mean to them when we go home either," I told her.

"Since when did you get an attitude anyway?" Chester asked her. "You used to be nice. Now you're this bossy little know-it-all. The prefect badge could only go to one boy you know. Ralph has higher grades than me so naturally it went to him. If I'd gotten it instead of him, you'd have lectured him instead of me. Can't win either way when it comes to you."

"Seriously?" I asked her. "You actually lectured them? I swear you do it just for the sake of lecturing. You must enjoy it."

"I grew up that's all," Brenda said.

"No sweetheart," Garth said. "That's not being grown up. That's just being bossy. You're worse than Percy Weasley or even Penelope Clearwater."

"You're worse than Marietta Edgecombe and I thought we had it worse than her," Ralph said before turning to Garth. "She's this fourth year who feels the need to lecture us. I really hope she isn't a prefect next year because she'll be very annoying. She'll tell us how to do our jobs. She already tries that with me."

"If she does it then you probably aren't doing it properly," Brenda said.

"No, she does it because she has nothing better to do," Chester said. "I dunno why Cho hangs out with her. She's the opposite of Marietta and she's beautiful."

"Marietta isn't bad looking. She's just annoying. Looks have nothing to do with it," Garth said. "Actually some of the prettier ones are annoying because they're pretty. Those are the ones you want to stay away from Barry."

"I have a girlfriend anyway," I told him. "And she's nice but I know what you mean. There is one in Slytherin that is like that and some of the blokes even in my house like her."

"A pretty Slytherin?" Garth asked. "That's an oxymoron."

"Oh come on, they aren't all bad looking," Chester said to him. "That one girl in your year I'd shag anytime."

"Right like you've shagged anyone," Garth snorted.

"This is an inappropriate conversation," Brenda said.

"Probably cause you're eleven," Ralph said.

"I know the facts of life," Brenda said as she rolled her eyes. "It's just no one should talk the way the four of you are. Even the boys in my year talk about shagging and they shouldn't."

"Probably because their eleven" Ralph said. "They don't know what shagging is and even if they do, they wouldn't know what to do. And don't tell me they do or you do. You know what it is but other then that you are clueless. Most people me age don't even understand it."

"And you do?" Garth asked laughing.

"I do as a matter of fact," Ralph answered. "I've been with Elsie for over a year now. You think we're going to be together this long and nothing would happen? Maybe you haven't mate-"

You know I have," Garth interrupted. "Or should I remind you?"

Ralph's face suddenly went red and he looked away. I was curious and as I glanced at my sister, I could tell that even she was. She seemed to be more curious than disapproving because she suddenly smirked at Ralph.

"You walked in on him with someone didn't you?" She asked.

"I thought this conversation was inappropriate," Chester said in a high pitched voice.

"But this is funny," Brenda admitted and she started to giggle.

"I knew you were a Hoofer deep down!" Ralph said now smiling. "And yes, you're right. It was last Christmas holidays. I walked in on him and some girl. It was very embarrassing and yet neither him or that girl were embarrassed."

Brenda giggled again. I smiled at her. I was glad that she was actually enjoying this conversation. It was a grown up conversation and I didn't want her to make them think we were too young. They all grinned at her.

"I knew there was a sense of humour inside of you somewhere," Garth said. "This is the way you should always be."

"Anyway, what is this about you and a girlfriend?" Chester asked me. "You're twelve."

"Yes so?" I asked. "We've been together a few weeks now."

"Aw don't tease him," Ralph said. "You had a girlfriend in first year. Us Hoofer men usually get them early," and then he turned to Brenda. "You can wait until you're at least sixteen. And so shagging until you're thirty."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "I'll date when I'm ready. I'm not yet though."

"Be ready when we're done school," Chester told her. "Then we don't have to hurt the bloke."

"Double standards," Brenda said and then she stood up and walked off.

"Well she has her moments where she is okay," Ralph said. "So tell us more about your girlfriend Barry."

I grinned and began telling them about Olivia. I loved being able to talk to them about this. At one time they only saw me as this little boy they used to tease. Now they saw me as an equal. I decided when Benny was older, I'd treat him this way too. I'd probably tease him because he was my brother, and it was my job to take the mickey out of him when he was older, but I'd also talk to him like a grown up. It felt good to be talked to like this.

On Halloween, I couldn't help but think about the year before. Last year the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. So far, this year had been quite uninteresting even with the Dementors around. I hoped it would stay the same way. I hoped nothing scary was going to happen that night that would everything. Olivia wanted me to sit with her at the Hufflepuff table that night. I hadn't decided if I was going to or not.

"Ever since you've been with her, you've been hanging out with her more than us," Tasha said to me that morning after breakfast in the common room. "And now you're going to sit with her at her table?"

"I usually sit with you two," I said. "But she wants me to sit with her tonight. What's the problem Tasha?"

"Nothing," Tasha said.

"Well something is obviously bothering you," I said.

"Forget about it!" Tasha said angrily. "But it's clear when it comes to girls you change."

And without another word, she walked off angrily.

"What is with her?" I asked Nick. "I mean, I've been dividing up my time haven't I?"

"Don't worry about her," Nick told me.

"You should ask Samaira to sit with you tonight," I told him. "She's on her own right now. Now is the best time to do it! Who knows when Katrina or Gretchen joins her! You won't get another chance today."

"You think I should?" Nick asked glancing at her nervously.

"Yes, do it now!" I said.

"What about Tasha?" He asked.

"Tasha needs to get over it," I said. "We're allowed to date and someday she will too when she grows up. Go on! Do it now, Nick. She likes you. Tasha has told you and so has Olivia for that matter."

Nick took a deep breath and stood up. He walked over to Samaira who grinned up at him. I couldn't hear him, but her grin widened and she looked as if she were blushing. She nodded and said something to him. Nick turned away and walked back over to me with a big grin as well.

"She said yes," he told me.

"I could tell," I replied. "Good for you. Maybe you'll have a girlfriend too."

"I do!" He said excitedly. "I asked if she wanted to be my girlfriend and if she does, we can sit together tonight for the feast!"

"Great job mate!" I said. "So you have to make sure you kiss her tonight then. Kissing basically seals the deal you know. I wish we were going to Hogsmeade today. We could double date."

"There will be time for that next year," he told me. "I dunno why I put it off so long. It was so easy. At least I know for the future how easy it will be."

"Exactly," I said. "If it doesn't work out with them, we know we can ask girls out easily next time!"

"Well, you didn't even ask yours out," Nick told me.

"Doesn't matter. I know it will be easy anyway," I told him. "We'll promise from now of if we're single that we'll just go for it when we like a girl, okay?"

"Sure," Nick said. "I can't wait for tonight. Are you hanging out with Olivia at all today?"

"No, later on. We're doing that tomorrow. So you should spend time with Samaira tomorrow," I said. "And you know, it's easier for you because you're both Ravenclaw's."

"But we gotta make sure we don't ditch each other or Tasha," Nick said. "She's already upset and she's going to be angry when she realizes I have a girlfriend now and I'm sitting with her tonight."

"She needs a boyfriend herself," I said.

Oddly enough, when I said that it made me feel annoyed. I took it as feeling like a big brother or something. Perhaps it was the same way my cousins felt about Brenda dating, or even how I felt about her dating.

"Well plenty of blokes fancy her," Nick said. "So maybe soon one will tell her. For now, lets just celebrate our success!"

It was true that plenty of blokes fancied Tasha. I frowned at this momentarily. I decided it was that big brother feeling again, and pushed it away. I just smiled and held out a fist for Nick to bump. It was something the muggleborn kids had taught us.

Later that night, I took a seat at the Hufflepuff table with Olivia. She annoyed me a little when she told me to put a napkin in my lap, but I ignored this. Perhaps she was just nervous, and maybe she was also really neat. Sometimes my parents had us to do that too, but it was only for special occasions. Maybe to Olivia, this was a special occasion. After all, it was a feast and this was our first real date.

I'd never say at any other table besides Ravenclaw. It felt odd to me sitting at Hufflepuff. It was a different view and everything. On the other hand, I had a closer view of Harry Potter. Not that I was going to stare at him for the whole meal, but like most people I was curious about him. It was hard not to look at him at times, especially after what he'd done the last two years. He wasn't doing anything interesting though. He just sat with his two friends and talked. What could I expect though?

I knew the Hufflepuff's somewhat, but I didn't know them all that well. It was kind of nice being to get to know them better as well. I'd heard Hufflepuff's were friendly, and the rumour was certainly true. Not one of them found it odd for me be there, which I'd worried about. I'd been a bit self-conscious about tonight with different people. All the second years, and even some of the older kids welcomed me there though. No one asked what the Ravenclaw was doing with the Hufflepuff's.

The conversations were all pleasant that night. I noticed Olivia seemed to dominate all the conversations. I figured it was why it had been so easy for her to originally talk to me. It was her confidence and the fact that she never ran out of things to say. I knew a few people would could dominate conversations, and sometimes it could be annoying but I didn't find it annoying when she did it.

I turned in my seat a couple times to see how Nick and Tasha were doing. Nick and Samaira were sitting closer to the first years and talking happily together. He seemed to be hanging off her every word. Tasha didn't seem to be too put out. She was sitting with Luna, and the two looked deep in conversation while they ate. I hoped she was okay. I didn't want us to fight. She caught me looking at her at one point and she smiled before she turned back to Luna. That had to be a good sign.

The year before, we'd had charmed skeletons who had danced around for us. This year, the Hogwarts ghosts did a show for us at the end of feast. I hadn't realized we had so many ghosts before. I knew about the house ghosts and Peeves and of course Binns (who wasn't part of the show, neither was Peeves) but there were more than a dozen showing off. The Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick even did a reenactment of his own be-heading. He'd been nearly decapitated but his head hung on just by a little skin (or whatever it was that ghosts) had. At times he liked to impress students with it, but other times he seemed annoyed if someone asked him to do it. That night, he had a standing ovation.

"Are you going to walk me back to the common room?" Olivia asked me as we stood.

"Not tonight," I told her. "They might wonder why I'm not there right away. It was a great night though. We should sit at each others tables more often."

"Then let's hang back a moment and let everyone go," she said.

And I knew why. We waited as the Great Hall began to clear. Once everyone was basically out into the Entrance Hall, I leaned forward to give her a kiss.

"See you tomorrow," I told her. "Nick has a girlfriend now. He'd like for all four of us to hang out sometime."

Olivia made a face. "Um… maybe. See you tomorrow Barry."

She turned and rushed off. I followed at a slower pace. I wondered what that was about? Why wouldn't she want to hang out with Nick and Samaira? So far, she hadn't really wanted the four of us all to hang out. I'd wondered why that was but I'd hoped it'd be different with Nick having a girlfriend now and maybe Tasha getting a boyfriend. I wanted all of us to hang out. I hung out with her friends after all.

"I saw that," Garth said as he rushed over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder and led me out to the Entrance Hall. "So how was your evening?"

"Not bad," I said and then explained what had just happened while we walked up the Entrance Hall steps.

"That could be a red flag," he said as he took me over to secret passage.

"You know about this way?" I asked.

"I've been here seven years. You don't think I wouldn't learn quicker ways to our common room do you? I'm surprised you know," he replied.

"We found it our first day," I answered. "Anyway, what do you mean it's a red flag?"

"She should want to hang out with your friends as well," Garth said. "You said you've hung out with hers, and you even sat at the Hufflepuff table tonight. She should be willing to do the same. It goes two ways with relationships. Do you think there is a reason for to dislike them?"

"They barely know each other. She was off last year after Christmas. Her parents didn't let her come back," I answered. "There wasn't enough time for them to get to know her. They barely know her and they'd like to. Tasha gets odd sometimes, but she still would like to get to know her better. She even said I spend a lot more time with Olivia than with them. If we could all hang out more, it could be different."

"I'd watch it when it comes to that Barry," he said. "You haven't been together long and this could be a red flag. She might actually be bossy or something. Don't let her keep you from your friends, especially Tasha. I understand tonight, but don't always let her make those kind of decisions. Remember to keep a happy medium with your friends."

"Maybe she is just nervous," I said.

"You need to find that out mate," Garth said. "It's something you two should discuss. Remember, communication is important."

"I'm glad I have you around," I told him with a smile. "I could always ask dad of course but sometimes owls can take forever. It's nice having someone here to ask these questions to."

"Well don't hesitate to ever ask me anything, and next year you can always talk to Ralph and Chester. They won't mind," Garth replied. "But you can always write too. I don't mind giving you advice. When I was your age, I didn't have anyone to talk to. All the older cousins were the girls, except Martin and he's worse than Percy Weasley. Actually, I have a feeling Brenda will be similar to him."

"I don't remember him much. He doesn't even come around for the family Christmases. I do remember he seemed kind of… well smug and pompous. I can see Brenda going like that and she's getting worse with age instead of better."

"I hate to see how she'd be as a prefect," Garth said. "Luckily, I won't be around for it."

When we go to the common room, we separated. He went to join his seventh year friends and I wanted to find Nick. I didn't see him or Tasha in the common room, and I wanted to know how his night went. I hurried up to our dorm and found him sitting on his bed already dressed for bed. He was smiling, so I took that as a good sign. I hurried to change and then went over to sit with him.

"So?" I asked once I sat down.

Nick opened his mouth to answer, but Ralph suddenly appeared in our room.

"We're all to go back to the Great Hall right now," he told us.

"Why?" I asked with confusion.

"Apparently Sirius Black was in the castle," he said. "Us prefects have to lead the younger years back. I'm in charge of you lot. Where are the other boys?"

"They never came up," Nick said. "So they're probably still in the common room. What do you mean Sirius Black got in the castle?"

"He was in the castle. He tried to get into Gryffindor tower. He tore of the portrait apparently," he said. "I don't know much else besides that. Flitwick rushed in and started to give us assignments. I wonder why odd stuff always happens on Halloween?"

We got up and hurried over to him.

"Last year Chamber of Secrets and this year, this?" I said. "I see your point. I guess a big feast is a big distraction. People must take advantage of that I suppose."

"The year before that there was a troll in the dungeons," Ralph said. "Last three years. Wonder what will happen next year."

"But why was Sirius Black trying to get into Gryffindor tower? What's in there that he could want?" Nick asked.

"Rumour is he wants Potter, and Potter is in Gryffindor tower," Ralph said. "Not sure why he does. Maybe because he was You-Know-Who's downfall?"

"I expect so," I said. "I just don't understand how he got past the Dementors! Must have gotten here before they did. Unless there is a way here another way."

"Geez, Harry has it all happen to him doesn't he?" Nick asked.

We found the other boys waiting for us in the common room. I wanted to know where Tasha was. Ralph took us out and even to our short cut. The other boys were asking the same question. How did he get in? I just wanted to find my other friend. She was probably scared at the moment.

We didn't find her until we entered the Great Hall. She was waiting for us by the doors. She hurried over looking nervous.

"How did he get in?" She asked once we reached her.

"We're all trying to figure that out," Nick said.

Dumbledore wanted all of us to sleep in the Great Hall that night, he even conjured up a bunch of sleeping bags for us. The three of us grabbed three, and made to move over to the other side of the room when Olivia rushed over to me.

"Come, let's go to my friends Barry," she told me.

"I'm going with this lot," I told her. "You're welcome to join us though."

"I think we should be with my friends instead, don't you think?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked with annoyance.

I saw my sister not too far off. I thought it seemed she wanted to join us, and so I wanted to be with my friends and Brenda if she needed me. I'd spent the evening with her, so now I should be with my friends and my girlfriend.

"Uh maybe because I'm your girlfriend," she said. "You should be with me."

"Then come with us," I said. "I want to be with them at the moment."

"Come with me," Olivia said defiantly.

"I'm stay with my friends," I told her and then I turned away to face them. "Let's go. Come with us if you'd like Olivia," I added and then I walked over to Brenda. "Do you want to join us?"

She nodded. She looked nervous, so I took her by the hand and then led her over to a space by the wall.

"How did he get in?" Brenda asked as he laid our sleeping bags down.

"Don't know," I said. "We're trying to figure that out."

"Guess he apparated in," Nick said. "That's the only way to get past Dementors. Maybe he found an old wand somewhere."

"You can't apparate into the grounds," Brenda and Tasha said at the same time.

"How do you know that?" I asked them as we started to get into our sleeping bags.

"Hogwarts, A History," Brenda said.

"Wait, you've read it too?" I asked her.

"Tasha let me borrow her copy," Brenda said. "I needed to look something up and I found it to be an interesting read. I read through most of it."

"You read through all those pages?" Nick asked her with amazement.

"Yes? So?" Brenda asked.

"These two wouldn't understand about reading unless they have to," Tasha told her. "Not unless it's some still comic anyway."

"If I am going to read for fun it's not going to be a ten thousand page book," I told her. "And if he didn't apparate, how else could he have gotten in?"

"That's the big mystery," Tasha said. "He must be very powerful. I mean, he never went mad in Azkaban, he escaped and he got past the Dementors."

"The lights are going out now!" Percy Weasley called. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out instantly. Though there was still some light from the ghosts as they floated around.

"So is Olivia going to be angry with you?" Tasha asked me.

"Probably," I said. "But I spent the feast with her, and my sister needed me. I'm staying with you lot. She'll get over it, and if not? Oh well."

"She seems a bit demanding," Brenda said. "I couldn't help but overhear."

"I was surprised you didn't back down to be honest," Nick said to me.

"Why? I'm not going to let someone walk all over me," I said. "Garth told me to never let that happen, and he is right."

"But what if she breaks up with you?" He asked.

"Then she breaks up with me," I said. "I don't want a bossy girlfriend. Speaking of girlfriends, how did your night go? You never got the chance to tell me."

"Yes, how did it go? You two looked happy," Tasha said. "I told you Samaira liked you."

"Quite good. We're hanging out tomorrow," Nick said.

"Good," Tasha said.

"I thought you said we were too young," I said to her.

"I changed my mind. I was just scared of being left out but I don't want you two to be unhappy either. I'm not going to stand in your way. Tonight you proved you won't ditch us Barry," she said.

"Enough talking!" Percy Weasley said as he approached us. "Don't make me come back over here again!"

I heard Tasha giggle as he walked off, but no one said a word again. I just stared up at the ceiling instead. Usually you could stare off into space for eons but with the lights out, you could even more. I thought I saw a shooting star in fact. I wished that things would work out for me when it came to my friends and girlfriends. I knew Olivia wasn't going to be my girlfriend forever, but I hoped tonight wasn't it either. I did like her after all. So she needed to stop with the bossiness. All this was on my find as I finally fell asleep.


	11. Second Year Part Five

Sirius Black was all anyone could talk about after that night. A lot of people got letters from their parents to make sure they were okay. Nick seemed nervous as he opened his own letter. After all, his parents had wanted to pull him out last year. However, all they told him was to stick with us and not to go anywhere alone or at night. It was the same thing they always told us. My parents basically said the same thing, but to also watch out for Brenda.

Olivia wasn't speaking to me, so I didn't know if her parents had said anything or not. Given how over-protective they were, I figured they would have said something. She was still in school even days later, so they must not have threatened to take her out. It was extremely irritating that she wouldn't talk to me. She would turn away from me when I tried to talk and she'd ignore me in the classes we had together. I was getting fed up. If we were broken up, I needed to know. I was getting ready to just send her a letter and tell her that it was over.

"You cannot break up with a letter," Tasha said when I told her this.

Nick was spending a lot of time with Samaira, so a lot of the time it was just the two of us.

"Well, I am tired of the silent treatment," I said. "How do I break up in person if she won't talk to me? Unless we are broken up."

"Just force her to sit with you in Charms," she said. "It's all you can do. Breaking up with a letter is horrible though Barry."

"I guess but the silent treatment is annoying and she needs to stop now," I said.

So I took Tasha's advice and forced her to sit with me in charms. I told her friends that I needed to sit with her, and they didn't argue with this. They just smiled at me and walked to another desk. I watched Olivia glare at them as they walked off. Perhaps they thought she should talk to me too.

"I'm tired of the silent treatment," I told her.

"You deserve it," she said. "Ignoring me and then grabbing some other girls hand? What were you thinking?"

"That was Brenda," I said angrily. "You're seriously angry that I grabbed my sisters hand? She was scared!"

"Shouldn't have happened," she said.

"You're jealous of my sister?" I asked her. "Are you taking the mickey out of me?"

"You don't take another girls hand when you are dating someone," she said defiantly. "Sister or not, it shouldn't have happened. You should have been with me and not two other girls."

"You know what?" I said. "This is stupid. We're done."

And without saying another word, I got up and walked over to join Tasha and Luna. We were practicing the severing charm that day. They both looked up surprised when I joined them. Tasha was so surprised, she cut the rope in half that she was working on.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I had to dump her," and I explained what happened.

"And they call me Looney," Luna said. "I would never get angry with a boy for spending time with his sister. I doubt any boy would ever date me though."

"Er- right," I said. "You're right though. She's loonier than you are."

"Luna is not Looney," Tasha said. "But you did the right thing Barry. You don't need that. You'll find someone better, don't worry."

"At least I don't have to take her to the Quidditch Match. I don't want to go at all," I said. "Now I don't have to."

"I don't understand why you dislike Quidditch," Tasha said.

"I like it well enough. It's just Gryffindor and Slytherin though and it's awful out there lately. I just prefer it when Ravenclaw is playing. If it's not bad out then I will go but it's been nothing but windy and rainy lately. It's not my idea of fun to watch a game in that," I told her. "The common room will be empty so it's a perfect time to study for that Potions test coming up."

"I heard they're playing Hufflepuff," Luna said as she severed the rope and then repaired it again.

"Where did you hear that?" I asked her.

"Heard some of the Gryffindor players complaining about it," she answered. "Apparently the Slytherin Seeker can't play because of his arm."

"Or he's just a little weasel," I said. "His arm has to be fine. Madam Pomfrey can fix anything. It can't still be injured. They just don't want to play in this weather I bet. No one would want to. I don't even want to watch in. Guess I can't blame them."

"It's an awful thing to do, especially to Hagrid," Tasha said. "They're getting out of the game and they're making it worse for him."

"Well it shouldn't have happened," Luna said.

"It only happened because Malfoy insulted the Hippogriff. You're not supposed to insult them. They are very proud and they're easily offended. It attacked him because he wasn't listening," Tasha said who was sharp with Luna for a change. "That kid deserved it."

"Hmm," Luna said. "Well, the Malfoy's are trying to take over Hogwarts. I suppose that's not a surprise he'd do that. Lucius Malfoy is looking to be the next Headmaster."

"Really?" Tasha asked her.

I tuned out the conversation though. I figured this was another one of her untrue things. The Malfoy's were idiots for sure, but I doubted that Lucius would try to become Headmaster or that they'd let him. I glanced over at Olivia who was glaring at me. Her eyes looked bloodshot so I wondered if she'd been crying. I didn't care though. She deserved it.

Lupin was sick, and for some odd reason, Snape was taking his classes instead. We'd moved passed hexes and jinxes at the beginning of September. We were now catching up on some dark creatures we should have learned about the year before. Apparently some of the animals he was showing us were the same as the ones he was showing the third years too, perhaps even the first years. He said we'd return to our level of hexes and jinxes in the New Year, but while he had these creatures he wanted us to catch up with them too.

Snape however wanted us to learn about Werewolves. That wasn't even second year level. Usually it was third years and older that learned about them. The class exchanged glances but didn't say anything. He went on about we were behind, but what could he expect? Even he must have known that Lockhart was a fraud. Lupin was trying to bring us up by teaching us two years at once! He was a great teacher and I didn't know anyone who disagreed.

"We're not the only ones," Tasha told me later on. "I talked to Ginny Weasley and he did the same to them and I guess to the third years too and too the fifth years and they already did werewolves! Guess he likes them or something."

"So you're saying all seven years are doing werewolves?" I asked.

"Possibly," she said.

"I'll have to ask Brenda if she got that too. Now we have that essay. He shouldn't be allowed to assign homework when he's filling in," I said with annoyance. "Wonder what he is up to with that. Seems odd that he'd want everyone to do it."

"I'll just be glad when Lupin is back, but he doesn't have all the Defence classes. He just has them when he has a free period," Tasha said. "So it won't be everyone who has to do it."

"He should be doing Lupin's lesson plan," I said annoyed. "And not walking around the classroom and criticizing our work and his teaching! He seems to really hate Lupin, and I don't know why. Maybe because he's actually a good teacher. Apparently he wants that job instead of Potions. Perhaps he hates it when someone is better qualified than him."

"Wonder why he never gets it?" Tasha asked. "I mean, Dumbledore does have trouble keeping them."

"I dunno," I replied. "I wish he'd just leave forever."

"Are you quite sure you're not going to go to the match tomorrow? Nick and Samaira are going together," she said. "I'd hate to go alone."

"Just go with Luna or one of the girls then," I said. "I'm not sitting in the wind and rain. You can stay in the common room with me and study."

"I want to see the match. Quidditch is so fascinating. Maybe I'll see if Brenda wants to go too then," Tasha said.

"Possibly, but she's never been a fan of Quidditch either," I told her. "She always complained when we went to matches years ago."

"Won't hurt to ask though," Tasha said. "But I think you're missing out."

"I disagree," I responded. "But have fun. I can think of better things to do. I'll be thinking of you lot while I'm toasty and warm by the fire."

"I'm sure," Tasha said as she rolled her eyes. "By the way, it seems your ex has already moved on. I saw her hanging off some third year Hufflepuff bloke."

"Good for her," I said.

And surprisingly, this news didn't really bother me. I must not have liked her all that much or perhaps it had to do with my age. I felt sorry for the third year bloke though. She had probably turned the charm on him. Within a few weeks, he'd find out what she was all about.

I loved the quiet of the common room. I took advantage of the older kids absence and took an armchair right by the fire. Normally only fifth year and older could get this spot. I just hoped that the match would be a long one, despite the horrible weather. I pulled my Astronomy homework towards me and began working on the constellations. It was the easiest out of all the work I had to do. I still wasn't sure if I should do Snape's essay on Werewolves or not. Could he really deduct marks if we didn't do it?

I was able to finish my Astronomy homework, and then I decided to start on Snape's essay anyway. I really didn't want a detention of marks deducted. Besides, in a way, I was fascinated by them. Mum and dad knew of a kid who had been bitten, but he turned out all right. So not all of them could be bad. I'd never asked my parents who the kid was, but even since they'd told us (Brianne had gone through a stage where she'd had nightmares about them) I'd wanted to know more. Even if I didn't have to hand it in, I'd have the information for when we finally did have to work on Werewolves.

I was so much into my essay and checking facts that I didn't notice people coming back in. It wasn't until someone sat beside me and said:

"Get out of here firstie!"

That I jumped and looked up. I scowled when I realized that it was only Garth who wore a huge smirk on his face. Ralph, Chester, Brenda, Kendra, Nick and Tasha were with him. They all sat down around me.

"How'd the match go then?" I asked feeling annoyed. I'd really been enjoying my essay. Not that I'd admit that to any of them, not even my sister.

"Not too well actually," Chester said. "You were smart to stay here."

"Why? What happened?" I asked.

"The Dementor's showed up," Nick said. "Went right onto the pitch and Harry, well you know he can't handle the Dementor's. He fainted while he was still flying."

"It was so scary!" Tasha said.

"Is he okay?" I asked setting down my quill. "From how high did he fall from?"

"Well, Dumbledore ran onto the pitch and he managed to slow him down. We think he is okay. He put him on a stretcher at any rate. Then he sent a patronus at the Dementor's and they all left. He looked so angry," Garth said. "Never saw him look that angry before. Usually he is a happy fellow, even when someone acts up."

"People thought maybe he'd died at first," Brenda said. "I think a lot of people went to the hospital wing to make sure he's okay. I hope now the Ministry gets rid of them. Clearly they can't keep Sirius Black away, so they're pointless anyway."

"Yeah but they won't see it that way," Ralph said. "They'll want to keep them here more than ever, even though they weren't supposed to be on the grounds."

"I wish I'd just stayed in here with you," Tasha said. "It wasn't a good match, and it was just as cold, rainy, and windy as you predicted. Looks like you got a lot of work done in here."

"It was nice actually being in this spot," I said and I gazed around the common room at everyone who was sitting in groups. "Surprised no one has wanted to kick me out of here yet."

"Well, it's only because we joined you," Chester told me. "If the three of us hadn't come over they'd be making you leave."

"Well, I just find that ridiculous," Brenda said. "It should be first come first serve."

"Just wait until you're a fifth year or older," Garth told her. "You'll understand. Certain spots should be reserved for the older kids. You say it's not fair now but I bet you'll change your tune four years from now."

"You will," Ralph agreed. "We all said the same thing you did, Brenda."

Brenda just shrugged. "I suppose I get it, but I mean, Barry was here first. He shouldn't get to just stay only cause you lot are here. I mean I get it for like everyday but he claimed this spot while everyone was out at the match."

"I don't care," I said with a shrug. "But this should be enough proof that the Dementors shouldn't be here. A kid almost died."

"Well, it's a bit odd that he faints every time they're around don't you think?" Brenda's friend Kendra asked. "No one else faints around them. I mean, they make you feel awful for sure but it's kind of pathetic don't you think?"

"Seriously?" Nick asked her angrily. "After everything he's been through? You know his story don't you? I'm sure you couldn't go through what he did without fainting around them. Those things make you relive your worst memories!"

"You-Know-Who killed his parents and then tried to kill him!" Chester added angrily. "Who are you to call someone pathetic?"

Kendra's face whitened and without another word, she got up and walked off.

"You could have been nicer to her!" Brenda said angrily.

"Why when she says something stupid like that?" I asked her. "The only one who is pathetic is her!"

"She's a first year!" Brenda said.

"And we're second years and we know it's stupid to say something like that!" Tasha said.

"What do you know about it?" Brenda asked. "You're just a muggleborn!"

"Brenda!" I said angrily.

Brenda just glared at me back and then got up and walked off.

"Can you believe her?" I said. "I can't believe she would even say-"

"She didn't mean it like that though," Garth said. "It was tactless what she said, but you know she didn't mean it that way."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "Still shouldn't have said it. I'm so fed up with her."

"It's fine Barry, really," Tasha said to me. "Come on, let's go over to our table and work on the Werewolf essay. You were working on it, so let's just do that. Let's give the big kids their spot back."

I shrugged and stood up.

"Talk to you later," I muttered to my cousins before I followed Tasha and Nick back to our usual table.

I knew Brenda didn't mean it the way that some bigots meant it, but she still shouldn't have said it. She had no problems with muggles or muggleborns, but she was saying that Tasha couldn't have an opinion either way since she didn't grow up in this world. It was just a horrible thing to say and I'd be angry with her for a long time. It wouldn't have mattered if Tasha was muggleborn or not. It was just something you never said.

After the Quidditch match, nothing else happened. It seemed things went back to normal. Lupin told us we didn't have to do the Werewolf essay, but I kept mine in case I needed it later on. We went back to our normal lessons with him.

We tried to go down and see Hagrid as well, but the majority of the time he still seemed depressed. So our visits really didn't last too long. It made me wonder how long he'd stay a teacher. Either he'd quit or they would sack him. From what I heard, his lessons weren't going all too well. Most of his classes he had them working with flobber worms.

Even with things gone back to normal, the rest of the term went by quickly. One moment it was the beginning of November, the next we were packing up to go home. I didn't talk to Brenda for the rest of the term. I was still very angry with her. Either she was angry with me or she knew I didn't want to talk to her because she didn't try to talk to me. She and her friend kept to themselves in the common room.

"She was in our dormitory for some reason," Tasha said to me after asking if we'd talked at all since the match.

It was already established that she was coming to my place for Christmas and Easter. Her parents had given permission the year before that she could come over every year. After my parents first letter, her parents had told them not to write back to them apparently. They'd just said she could stay over at our place if she wasn't staying at Hogwarts. All they cared about was that she wouldn't be home except for the summer.

"Your dormitory?" I asked with confusion not sure if I'd heard her right.

"Yes, I was just going in and she was just leaving," Tasha replied. "Said she went into the wrong dorm by mistake, but the first year girls are way at the top. Ours is in the middle. I don't see how it could be by accident."

"That's odd," I said. "Is anyone missing anything? She used to like stealing from us when we were younger. I'd hate to think that she's stealing from the girls."

"No one apart from Luna has noticed anything missing, but people are always hiding her things," Tasha said.

"And was Luna missing anything that day do you know?" I asked.

I'd noticed my sister had joined in on the teasing when it came to Luna. If she knew people were taking the girls things and hiding them, I could see her doing it too. She'd always been a bit of a bully after all.

"You don't think she's hiding Luna's stuff now too do you?" Tasha asked.

"If she knows people are doing it then yes," I said. "Is it obvious which trunk or bed is Luna's?"

"Well, yes. She has all sorts of funny things hanging over her bed from that magazine of her fathers. She also has her name on her trunk," Tasha said.

I looked around for Brenda. She was as usual working with her friend on school work. I'd wait until we got home to ask her. Sure Luna was a bit odd, and even I'd called her Looney at times but to actually steal her things? That was going too far. It was thing to tell someone they were mad when they came up with weird things, it was another to be a bully for no reason. Brenda had no reason to talk to Luna, so why would she care about her crazy stories?

"I'll talk to her later," I finally said. "She'd better not be hiding her things."

Tasha didn't say anything. She just looked across the common room. Her eyes fell on Nick and Samaira who were sitting together playing chess.

"Think those two can handle being away from each other for a few weeks?" She asked.

"They'll have to deal with it," I said with a smirk.

"They're cute together. I'm glad it's working out with them," Tasha said.

"Too bad I couldn't say the same for my own relationship," I sighed. "And no one has been interested since. Bet she told other girls thing."

"No, they all still fancy you," Tasha said. "But not all girls are like Olivia you know. You need to make a move too."

"There isn't anyone I fancy at the moment," I said.

"Not even Cho Chang?" Tasha asked smirking.

"I haven't thought about her in a while and I think she's seeing someone anyway," I said. "I notice a lot of pretty girls, but I haven't felt anything since Olivia."

"Her latest boyfriend chucked her," Tasha said. "She got all bossy and demanding like she did you. I don't think she's learned her lesson either. I heard her in the loos complaining to her friends. She says all blokes are gits."

"Well, she'll keep getting chucked then," I said. "What about you? Isn't there anyone you fancy?"

"I see plenty of cute boys, but no," she answered. "I'm the same as you but I am getting curious about kissing."

"Well if you ever want to practice," I joked.

"You're a prat," she laughed.

"Well, the offer is there," I said laughing as well.

I was still curious about kissing her, but I'd never admit that to her. It was one thing to joke about it, but I didn't want her to think I fancied her or something. I didn't of course and there was no need to make things awkward between us. For the rest of the evening, we joked about who we should or shouldn't snog. It was a great last evening of the term. Though I did miss Nick quite a bit.

Back at home, mum and dad made us all sit down and talk about our first term again. I had a feeling this was going to be an annual thing, and I didn't like it. I gave them all information in the letters I sent home. They all knew what was going on with my life so far. I just humoured them and answered their questions. Tasha didn't seem to mind the questions, but I understood she was just happy to tell someone about school.

"What do you need to know?" Brenda asked. "I've told you almost everything. What I haven't told you isn't important. I still think you should write about the Dementors."

"We did write about them," dad told her. "And we aren't the only parents to complain. They are there to stay unfortunately."

"We did get a letter from Flitwick that you were caught bullying some Hufflepuff's," mum scolded her. "You know how we feel about that. I also know you'd like to be a prefect someday. You can't have that on record."

"They're a bunch of dunderheads," Brenda responded. "And Flitwick only caught me at it once. I've been careful since then."

"You shouldn't be bullying at all!" Dad said angrily. "Whether you're caught or not."

"You didn't steal from Luna did you?" Tasha blurted out and I glanced at her with surprise.

She didn't believe in ratting people out, but I knew she was very upset with the people who were stealing from Luna. Brenda stared over at her with her mouth open too.

"Stealing isn't nice," Benny who had been quiet so far said. "You shouldn't be stealing from people."

"Why would you steal from someone?" Brianne asked.

"I didn't steal," Brenda said glaring at Tasha before looking away. "I dunno what you're talking about."

"What are you talking about Tasha?" Mum asked her but she was staring at Brenda who wouldn't look at anyone. "Why did you ask her that?"

Tasha quickly explained how people were always stealing and hiding Luna's things. She explained how she'd caught Brenda in her dorm even though there was no reason for her to be there. Both my parents continued to glare over at Brenda who refused to look up still.

"Well?" Dad asked. "Did you break into that girls dorm and hide her things?"

"No," Brenda said refusing to look at dad.

"Brenda!" Dad said angrily.

"You're such a snitch!" Brenda yelled at Tasha before she got up and rushed out of the room.

Mum and dad got up and hurried after her. Brianne and Benny watched with their mouths open.

"I didn't mean to rat her out," Tasha said turning to me. "It's just this morning a lot of Luna's stuff was missing, so she she had to go home for Christmas without them. Even a present she bought for her dad. All the girls said they didn't steal that and I believe them. They said even if they did, they'd have brought back a present if they knew that's what it was. I've just been angry every since and I blurted because I really think it was her. She was in my dorm again Barry!"

"You did the right thing," I said with a sigh.

"Why do they hide this girls things?" Brianne asked.

"She's a bit odd," I answered. "Some people call her Looney Lovegood because of some of the mad stories she tells. She believes in some really odd things."

"They shouldn't hide her things because of that," Benny said. "That's mean. Why does it matter if she thinks weird things?"

"It shouldn't matter Benny," Tasha said and then she sighed. "I feel awful. I don't like when people rat and I did it to your sister. What she was doing is wrong but so is being a tattle-tale."

"Don't worry about it Tasha," I said to her. "No point in dwelling on it. If she is punished then she is getting what she deserves. She's been a brat all term."

"So has their been anymore Sirius Black sightings?" Brianne asked. "Mum and dad told us about Halloween night. They said he's trying to get Harry Potter."

"None that we know of," I told her. "The Dementors are a nightmare though. Get this-" and I told them everything that had happened from the train ride to school to the horrid feeling we got at times on the grounds to when they when turned up at the Quidditch Match.

Tasha had to fill in a big part of the Quidditch Match since I hadn't been there. Benny and Brianne's mouths were open again as they listened. They looked at each other and then back at us.

"They actually went into your compartments?" Benny asked. "That had to be so scary. Mum and dad have told us more about them. What about Brenda?"

"She was really scared too," I said. "But just because she has been a brat lately, don't make fun of her. It was very scary. It was scarier than when we found out about the kids being petrified last year, and that was terrifying!"

"I wouldn't laugh at her about that," Benny said. "I bet it was very scary. I hope Hogwarts isn't scary when I go. It's been scary for you two times now."

"And the year before you started school too!" Brianne reminded me. "I don't want it to be scary when I go either."

"Well," Tasha said with a small smile. "I don't know know how it can get scarier. Maybe next year will be boring."

"I hope so," I said. "But it has been peaceful since that Quidditch Match. So maybe nothing else will happen. I mean, Sirius Black can't be fool enough to get in again! They're watching even more than before."

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Tasha said. "Tell us how you're doing. How were the last three months for you two?"

"I lost more teeth," Benny said and grinned to show that he was indeed missing some teeth. "I had two come out the same week! I already have a loose tooth too!"

"Good for you," Tasha said. "Did the tooth fairy come?"

"Yes I got sickles for them. I put them away in my savings," he answered.

"Savings?" Tasha asked him. "Don't you want candy or anything?"

"Benny saves everything," I told her. "He's never spent his allowance or any money he gets as a gift."

"I'm gonna buy my own house someday but we don't get the money 'til we're twenty-five. So I'm just saving," Benny explained. "Someday I might get school stuff and Hogsmeade stuff too though."

"Money until you're twenty-five?" Tasha asked Benny.

"Uh huh. Our trust funds," Benny answered.

"I guess I never told you," I said to her. "Our grandparents set us up a trust fund each. We have to work before we get it though. It's only fair. It was the same with my dad too. They did it before they died. Not all of us cousins get the same amount though. For some reason we get the most, and I think Sam," and then I looked at Benny. "But we're not supposed to brag about it."

"I wasn't. I forgot and I thought you told her," Benny replied. "She is your best friend."

"He has you there," Brianne told me.

It was something the older cousins often complained about. Chester, Ralph and Garth mentioned a few a times. I wasn't sure why we got more than them. It was something they needed to ask their parents as our grandparents were dead. It had been in their will how much each of us would receive one day. I always wondered if it was because we were so young when they died, but it wasn't as if they could predict that either. Benny was a little over a year when they'd died.

"I suppose he does," I said before turning to Tasha. "I don't care if Nick knows, but I don't want others to know. People make comments about the family money as it is. I don't want to know what they'd think if they knew I had that money waiting for me. People often think I'm some spoiled rich kid or something."

"Do people try to be your friend just because of the money?" Brianne asked me.

"Not yet," I told her.

"I'm worried about that. Brenda told me that some people might," she said.

"She is right but I haven't had it yet, and I don't think she has. So far it's just people thinking we are spoiled and we get everything handed to us. I've had comments like that from Ivan a few times," I said. "And one time someone said we're probably like the Malfoy's but they have a lot more money than us. His house makes ours look like a shack."

"You've seen his house?" Tasha asked me.

"A couple years ago dad had to get something from Lucius Malfoy. They work together in the Ministry, but Lucius kept 'forgetting' to bring it to work," as I said forgetting I used finger quotes, "mum wasn't home and dad had to get it but he didn't want to leave us home alone so he took us with him. Dad says Lucius did it on purpose to show off his mansion. He's not a forgetful man, he just wanted dad to see what he had and what we didn't."

"It's the biggest house I've ever seen," Benny said. "I still remember it and I haven't seen many houses except when we trick or treat."

"You should watch out for girls you date too," Tasha said. "They might want you just for the money too."

"I'm not going to tell them until we've been together a while," I said. "But dad already talked to both Benny and me about that. He said there are obvious signs like if they mention it a lot. I do wonder if that's why a lot of girls do fancy me."

"It's not," Tasha said. "Well, I'm sure it is with some but a lot of girls think you're cute."

"I hope I don't meet girls like that," Benny said. "But I'm not even going to talk to girls when I go anyway."

"Why?" Tasha asked.

"Cause I've had two sisters around me all the time," he answered. "Sometimes I see Sam but otherwise I'm just always with girls. So I'm just going to only be friends with boy until I find a girlfriend but I won't get a girlfriend until I'm in my fifth year."

"You'll change your mind when you're my age," I told him. "Let's go upstairs for a bit. I want to unpack but we can also play."

"Yay!" Brianne said jumping up.

She rushed straight over to Tasha to grab her hand. Benny wasn't too far from behind her. I got up and followed them. It was amusing how much they loved her and Nick. It was a good thing I didn't get offended easily. They were always more excited to see her than me.

Tasha apologized to Brenda but my sister held grudges. Brianne told us later that mum had given Brenda a spanking for it and then she'd grounded her for the rest of the holidays. She also had to write to Luna and apologize for stealing from her. When we went upstairs later, we could hear Brenda having a temper-tantrum. I'd looked in to see her in a fury. She was throwing her things all over the room. When Brianne went in later for bed, she learned that after mum and dad got it out of her that she'd stolen from Luna, mum had given her a long spanking with her pants down. I was shocked because our parents never hit bare skin. When they left the room, Brenda had her tantrum.

She didn't say anything to Tasha, but at meal times when she joined us, she would sit there and glare at her. I went into her room to find a couple days later to find it was still a mess. She was just laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

"When are you going to grow up?" I asked her.

"Go away!" She said furiously.

"You're always so angry and you act like such a brat all the time," I said to her. "You don't seem to realize it's you either. You blame everyone else and I've noticed you only have one friend. Not even the other first years like you. That should tell you something right there."

"Tasha had no right to rat me out!" Brenda said angrily. "She should have asked me when mum and dad weren't around."

"She knows that and she even told me that when they left the room," I said. "She said she shouldn't have but she was still feeling angry from that morning. I don't know what you stole, but it was a gift for Luna's father. You barely even know Luna. You just did it because you knew everyone else was stealing from her because she can be odd. You just wanted to be a bully Brenda. You don't even regret it though. You're just angry that mum and dad punished you."

"No!" Brenda said jumping up furiously. "I am angry because she ratted me out! You're right, I shouldn't have done it but instead of talking to me about it, she asked in front of mum and dad! Also, I am way too old for spankings! I am going to be twelve-years-old and mum spanked me very hard with my pants pulled down Barry! All because Tasha couldn't keep her damn mouth shut!"

"No, you got spanked because you stole!" I said angrily back. "It is not Tasha's fault that you got a spanking Brenda. You need to learn the consequences of your actions. Mum and dad told you to stop stealing from us, and you didn't think you'd be caught if you stole at school but you did!"

"People shouldn't rat Barry!" Brenda said. "And you're taking your friends side over mine!"

"She did the right thing," I stated.

Brenda walked over to me furiously. Before I could stop her, she threw her hand back and slapped me hard across the face. I stared at her with shock. She went to do it again, so I grabbed both her hands quickly. Screaming, she kicked me hard in the shin, and she was wearing high heels for some reason. It really hurt.

"Brenda, calm down!" I said trying to hold her down.

I shoved her down and ran from her. My eyes were prickling with tears. She had some strength for a small girl. She sat on the floor crying.

"What has gotten into you?" I asked her. "Stealing and then attacking me? Why are so angry?"

"I hate spankings!" She screamed. "I hate spankings!"

I backed out of her room and then shut the door. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to tell my parents she had hit me because they would probably just spank her again. All it was doing was making her angry. I didn't want to tell my parents what to do. I was still just a child myself, but they needed to know that they weren't getting through to her.

Brianne, Benny, and Tasha were in Benny's room so I went to my room to look at myself in the bathroom mirror. My face was red from where she had slapped me. I'd have to wait until later to talk to my parents. I wasn't going to tell them that she had attacked me. That would stay between us, but I did have to talk to them.

We celebrated my thirteenth birthday a couple days later. This time all the boys from my dorm came over after lunch. We spent most of the day outside. Mum made a big deal that morning about her first baby becoming a teenager already and that she wasn't ready yet for teens. Dad gave a big speech about how he was proud of me so far, and that he knew I'd turn out to be a fine young man someday. I felt embarrassed and I felt they were going over the top, but I didn't tell them this. The family sent all sorts of presents to me, and it took a long time to get through them all.

"If it's like this when you're thirteen, what is it going to be like when you're seventeen?" Nick asked me later that night in my room. We were going through my stuff. Thankfully most of it were books.

"And you wonder why people think you're spoiled," Tasha joked.

"And then you get Christmas!" Nick added. "I mean blimey mate. Is there anything you don't have?"

I rolled my eyes. "It won't be like this every year. Just thirteen and seventeen. Last year they didn't make a big deal either. I think it's cause I am the oldest too. I don't think it will be this big a deal for the others."

"And Brenda will likely flip out about that too," Nick said. "I notice she didn't even come out all day."

"It's not because of that," I said. "Speaking of which, I need to talk to my parents."

I wondered if dad would still feel proud of me after I talked to them. I hadn't had the chance and it had taken all day for the hand mark to fade. I'd told mum and dad later that I'd had an accident when they asked what happened. By that point you couldn't tell it was a hand, but my face had still been a bit red. I had a bruise on my shin as well from where she'd kicked me. After that day, there was never a chance to talk to them.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"I just do," I said. "And now is a good of time as any. I'll be right back. You two can keep going through my stuff if you want."

I got up and left my room. I figured they'd be in the living-room. Brianne and Benny were in bed already, and likely Brenda was as well. So I headed downstairs. Mum was reading a book, and dad was listening to a Quidditch match on the wireless.

"Hi birthday boy!" Mum said with a grin as she lowered her book.

"I gotta talk to you about Brenda," I said as I sat down. "You might get angry about this."

"What did she do now?" Dad asked as he pointed at the wireless with his wand to turn it off.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "It's me you might get angry with cause you might think I'm telling you what to do."

"Is it about me spanking her?" Mum asked and I nodded. "Look, we never intended to do it again after our talk last year. She is getting a bit old, but this time she needed one. I don't care if she is seventeen, I still would have done it. She's know better than to steal, and she did it to bully that girl. I know she is very angry about it, but she needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions."

"And we think you're lying to us about that mark on your face," dad added. "She hit you, didn't she?"

"You're not going to spank her again are you?" I asked.

"No, but you should be truthful with us Barry," dad said. "We don't like when you kids hit each other. You know that we don't like it."

"I was hoping I could deal with it myself, but she has avoided me since," I said. "Mum, dad, she went mad and I think there is more to it then her just being upset about being spanked. I would hate to be spanked when I'm thirteen but I wouldn't react like she did. I think she is angry about something too."

"We've been trying to get through to her, and it's just the same thing she tells us every time," mum said. "And she just isn't going to get her own way on that. She's at Hogwarts now anyway. She doesn't need her own room. I think she's just embarrassed that she was spanked, and I don't plan to do it again unless she really deserves it. I told her when she used to steal from you lot what would happen if she did it again. She did it to some innocent girl at school just to be cruel."

"And we don't even think she regrets it since she is angry with Tasha. Tasha did the right thing by telling us, even if she blurted it out," dad added. "She probably would have kept doing it."

"It's nice you are looking out for your sister," mum told me. "And of course we aren't angry with you. I know you're not trying to tell us what to do. Brenda just needs to lose the attitude. The sooner that happens, the better it will be for her. We've always believed spankings should be a last resort, and we stand by that. We've rarely had to do it with you four, but lately Brenda has been out of hand. I'm hoping that is the last time we have to do it with her."

I nodded. "Well I figured I should say something because she really did go mad," I said. "I've never seen her react like that. Not since we were little kids anyway."

"Well, next time please don't lie to us if she hits you," dad told me. "It's something we need to know."

I nodded and then excused myself. I left the room to find Brenda hiding beside the door. She didn't say anything but she followed me as I went to the steps and then up them. I waited until we were at the top before I turned to her.

"Were you listening the whole time?" I asked.

"I saw you go down," she said. "And mum and dad haven't said anything about me hitting you. So I wondered if that's what you were doing now. Thanks for sticking up for me and there isn't anything wrong with me. I'm just really angry about the spanking and that's it. I don't want to get a spanking when I'm going to be twelve this year."

"Well you must have heard why mum did it," I said to her.

"I'm still not going to forgive Tasha," she told me.

"That's your choice but as long as she is here, you aren't going to be rude to her either," I said.

"I'm just going to ignore her," Brenda said.

"But you know, if you want people to take you seriously, you shouldn't throw temper-tantrums anymore. You're right, you're going to be twelve this year so you shouldn't be throwing a temper-tantrum even if you're upset about a spanking. You really did go mad, Brenda. You attacked me just because of it! What am I supposed to think?" I pulled up my pant leg to show her the bruise. "You kicked me with high heels on! Why were you even wearing high heels?"

"They fit now and I've been trying to learn to walk in them," she answered. "Mum and dad got them for me for Christmas last year, remember? Before you came in I'd been walking around but I'm still wobbly. I am sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you. I had a lot of built up anger since that day and you came in defending Tasha and all. I'm your sister."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "Tasha did the right thing and I can't always stick up for you, especially when you do something that bad!"

"We're not going to agree on that but I am sorry," she said. "I felt bad the moment you left the room. I couldn't believe that I'd lost control like that. I even told myself it was mad what I did."

"You should learn a better way to channel your anger," I told her.

She smiled and then beckoned for me to follow her into her and Brianne's room. It wasn't often she invited me in there. I followed her inside. She'd cleaned up her mess since the last time I'd been in there. She walked over to her bed and pulled out the lower bed. The girls both had beds underneath their beds in case they wanted a friend to stay over. There wasn't enough room for two beds to be out all the time like in my room or Benny's.

When it was pulled out, a punching bag suddenly appeared in the middle of the bed. She turned and grinned at me.

"It's better than a person," she told me.

"Where in the world did you get that?" I asked.

"Mail order," she replied. "I found it at the back of the Daily Prophet. They have all sorts of ads and there was one for the gym shop. It wasn't very much and I figured if I want to hit something, I should hit that. Kendra told me a while ago that her older brother has one at home for working out and just to punch too. I remembered that after I hit you and so I ordered it. It came yesterday. I like it a lot. It's fun and I use it when I'm not angry. Kendra says it's a stress reliever and she's quite right. I bet when I'm stressed from homework too I can use it."

"Not a bad idea," I said. "I might get one myself. Well, I'm glad you have something because I don't like being your punching bag."

"Well, just don't tell Benny about it," she said and she pushed her lower bed back in. It disappeared with a loud pop. "He'll want to play with it. Brianne knows about it obviously. She saw me using it earlier and she promised too."

"I won't," I said. "Are you taking it to school with you?"

She nodded. "I'll have to ask mum and dad to put a spell on it so one can get in it. The other girls will notice it of course. I don't want them playing around with it when I'm not around it."

Later on, I wondered why Luna didn't have someone do that for her. After people continued to steal things from her, it seemed the obvious thing to do. Perhaps I'd say something to her when we got back to school.

Brenda was a bit better for the rest of the holidays, but she stuck to her word that she'd ignore Tasha from then on. She spoke to Nick when he came around if she left her room and she was nice to Benny and Brianne. She even sat down to play games with them without them asking her to. Normally they had to beg her to pay attention to them. On New Years, she didn't even make a big deal out of it when Garth brought us in rum and pumpkin juice just as he did the year before. She just pretended that it didn't even happen.

Maybe she was going to change for the better after all.


	12. Second Year Part Six

When we got back to school, I noticed Luna was a bit cold around me and I wondered if she thought I had set Brenda up to do it. I apologized to her about my sister, but I wasn't sure if she believed me or not. She just thanked me and then walked off.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Nick said to me. "It's only Looney Lovegood after all. I'm surprised she doesn't think it's some creature that doesn't exist that is stealing her things."

"I just don't want anyone to hate me or to judge me on what my sister does," I said. "I'll try to keep talking to her and maybe she'll come around. Anyway, where is Samaira. I figured you two would be hanging out already. You haven't seen each other three weeks."

"Oh, we broke up over the holidays," he said. "Didn't I tell you?"

"You know you didn't," Tasha said. "She hasn't even mentioned it to me. She doesn't seem sad either. What happened?"

"She wanted me to go around for Christmas tea but I didn't want to. Besides, my parents didn't want me to go anywhere on Christmas. I just felt like it was too much pressure to meet her parents already. It seemed scary and I even explained that to her. She wrote back that it was over then and I feel that if she will break up with me over that then she's not worth it," Nick explained. "She tried talking to me and she said she regrets it but I said no. I'm not getting back with her only for her to break up with me for something silly later on. Mum and dad told me that girls like that aren't worth it. I don't want some off and on again relationship either. Some of the older kids do that, and I don't want it."

"Was she upset when you said no?" I asked him.

"I dunno. She didn't cry or anything. She just walked off. I expect she'll just ignore me. It was fun while it lasted but I'm not all that upset either. I was shocked at first, but I don't feel overly sad so I guess I can't have liked her that much," Nick replied. "There will be other girls. Besides, she was awfully demanding. I never got to hang out with you two much. She didn't get quite as bossy as Olivia but she'd get all sad if I wanted to leave. Dad said it was probably her way of manipulating me."

"I expect it was," Tasha said quickly. "I've seen her do that to Gretchen and Katrina when they don't want to do something she wants. She pulls the whole sad thing and they do it. I like her well enough of course, but that always annoyed me about her."

"Could have warned me," Nick said but he was smiling at her.

"I thought I'd let you find out on your own," she answered.

As the days went on, we didn't hear anymore about Sirius Black. It made us all think that he must have left after he couldn't get into Gryffindor tower. Harry Potter was too protected and there was also a curfew on the castle when it came to going outside. Hagrid didn't even want us visiting anymore. Nick wanted to because Hagrid had told him that he had to go to a hearing about his Hippogriff.

Tasha and Nick corresponded with him from time to time and apparently Hermione Granger was looking up information for him for his court date.

"Well, she'll find something for him," I said. "I mean, it wasn't his fault, right? They can't find him guilty especially with her help."

"I suppose you're right," Nick said. "But it doesn't stop me from worrying about him. I wish he'd see us at least. I told him to keep us updated because we're concerned too. It's the best we can do I suppose."

"Yes, and they'll likely realize Black is gone soon enough. Once he is the security measures will be lifted and we can go see him," Tasha said. "Writing will have to be enough for now."

I noticed that the Malfoy brat was walking around more arrogantly and I figured it was because he was happy about all that. I was glad he was in the year above me so that I never had to talk to him. It was bad enough when I passed him in the corridors or when I saw him in the Great Hall. I just wanted to hex the smirk off his face.

The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor match came up, I'd missed the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw match (which we'd won) and the Slytherin and Ravenclaw match. We'd had a huge test in History of Magic the following Monday and I'd wanted to be prepared. However, we'd almost won so the team really wanted a win this time. They'd been practicing harder than before. They figured this time they had an edge because they didn't think Gryffindor had been. If we won this game, we'd be in the running for the cup.

"Cho is Seeker you know," Nick said to me with a grin as we walked down to the pitch.

I shrugged. "I don't like her anymore. She never seemed the Quidditch type to me though."

"You don't even know her," Tasha said laughing. "How would you know if she is or not?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Just something about her seems like she'd think it was just too tough of a sport. She seems like a bit of a princess."

"Actually I can see what you mean, but she's actually a good Seeker," Nick replied.

"Maybe it's why she chose to be Seeker," Tasha replied. "She just has to find the Snitch after all."

"You've been to matches," I said to her. "You must have seen that Seekers get hit by the Bludgers the most."

"Yes, but the Beaters protect them," she answered.

"Not always," Nick said. "Remember Harry last year?"

"That's only cause someone cursed the Bludger," Tasha retorted. "Did they ever find out who?"

"No," I said. "Maybe it was the Heir of Slytherin somehow. She was possessed after all."

I didn't say her name because it wasn't common knowledge that it was Ginny and people were walking around us. I doubted anyone cared too much about our conversation but it was still best not to say anything either way. Most were talking excitedly around us. Not too far from us were some Slytherin's betting on how long Harry would stay on his broom this time.

"You don't think the Dementors will turn up this time do you?" Nick asked in a whisper as we entered the pitch.

"No, they didn't last time did they?" I said as we climbed up the steps. "Dumbledore probably made sure they won't again."

"But maybe it's something about Harry," Tasha said.

"The Dementors wouldn't know who he is," I said. "They're not going to target some student. It's only the prisoners and I didn't even they knew each prisoner. They're supposed to be blind. I suppose they must have gotten to know Black somehow though if they're looking for him."

We found Luna once again so I headed straight for her. I was still trying to get her to realize that it wasn't my fault that Brenda had stolen from her. I took a seat beside her. For once, she actually smiled at me.

"I know you've come to apologize again Barry," she said. "And I know it's not your fault. You don't have to apologize anymore. You can go now if you want. You don't have to sit with me. I know you only came here to apologize and because you feel sorry for me. I'm fine."

"Well, we'll sit here anyway," I told her.

Luna shrugged but didn't say anything else. At times I wondered if she knew leglimency or something. Either that, or she was good at reading people. The entire reason for why I did go over was to apologize and I did pity her. I wouldn't have sat with her otherwise. I didn't move because I wanted to prove her wrong and I was sure she knew that as well. I glanced over at Tasha and Nick who had taken a seat beside me. They both grinned at me.

Everyone was shocked when the game began. Harry Potter had a Firebolt! I'd heard his broom was destroyed in the last game after the Dementors showed up but I figured he'd have gotten another Nimbus.

"Of course that kid has a Firebolt," someone from behind us said. "Another reason to show off I suppose."

I didn't agree, but I did wonder how he'd gotten the money for one. The boy was an orphan after all and we'd heard that the muggles he lived with didn't like him much. They wouldn't have sent him money for it. Perhaps the teachers had bought it for him again. Apparently they'd done so with the Nimbus. I heard others speculating that as well.

"Favourtism is what it is!" Someone else said. "Guess you need a scar on your forehead for the teachers to do let you do anything or to get free things!"

"I don't think the teachers would have bought it for him this time," Tasha muttered.

"He does have gold," Luna said from beside me.

"How d'you know that?" I asked her.

"My dad told me. I asked him how he gets money to come to school and his parents left him a vault full of gold," she replied. "The Potters were a rich family you know."

"I didn't know that but it explains it I suppose," I said.

I didn't know whether to believe her or not, but it did make more sense than the teachers buying it for him. After he'd lost his broomstick, I suppose he'd decided it was best to get it instead of another Nimbus. I wondered how much they were. I'd love one even if I didn't do much flying.

Our team wasn't doing very well and I wondered if it had to do with the fact that the Firebolt had thrown them off. After all their practices, they weren't even scoring all that well. All Cho was doing was just tailing Harry instead of looking for the Snitch.

"What are they playing at?" Nick asked. "Just play the game already! It's not the broomstick, it's the skill! They can't let Gryffindor beat them at eighty nothing!"

Our Beaters must have been thinking the same. One of them hit a bludger at Harry that just barely missed him. If he wasn't on the Firebolt, it likely would have. The Chasers then managed to get in three goals.

"About time!" I said. "Hopefully they can get it tied now. Either that, or Cho needs to get the Snitch now. Why isn't she looking for it? She's never going to catch up to him."

Harry must have seen the Snitch but as he dropped down to get it, she blocked him. It was a good strategy but she really needed to just find it on her own.

"She must know once he dives for it she will never catch up," Tasha said. "She is quite good."

"You wouldn't know it right now," I muttered.

Harry faked her out next but then the Snitch must have appeared a few moments later. Cho and Harry started flying down to the Ravenclaw hoops. Suddenly, some Dementors appeared walking fast below. It was odd because they didn't run, they glided.

"Those aren't real Dementors!" Nick said. "Someone is trying to make Harry fall!"

Harry didn't fall though. Spotting the Dementors, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at them. A silver stag appeared out of his wand and went after them. The Dementors stumbled and then fell down.

"What was that!" I said impressed.

"A patronus of course," Tasha said.

"What's a patronus?" I asked.

I'd never heard of them before but it was neat looking.

"You've never heard of them?" Nick asked with amazement.

"Obviously not," I said.

"It's a way to repel Dementors," Tasha said. "I only just found out what it was last match. I figured you'd know what it was though. They're basically guardians. You produce them from a happy memory and obvious since they're not real the Dementors can't take it from them so it repels them."

"I'd never heard of them either but you always know everything," Nick said to me.

"Not that," I said. "It's useful to know though. Lupin should teach us that, oh look, Harry got the Snitch."

"Wouldn't expect anything else with a Firebolt," Nick said. "Cho never had a chance."

"But who were the Dementors then?" Tasha asked as we stood up.

"Malfoy and his friends," Luna said as she stood up. "Look, they're getting yelled out at for it. I expect they think just the sight of them makes him faint."

"Stupid of them then," Tasha said. "Well the Slytherin team should be disqualified for that."

"Looks like we've lost this year though," Nick said sadly and we began make our way off the bleachers. "Better hope Gryffindor beats Slytherin then."

"But they're below in points too," Luna said. "Slytherin have the highest right now."

"There's still a chance," I said. "I heard Oliver Wood really wants to win his last year."

"Cho probably regrets following him too. Ah well, I guess there is always next year. Aren't you glad you didn't miss the game though? It was exciting either way," Nick said.

"It was," I said. "But I don't think I'll go to the next one. Well, let's get going. We still have Sprout's assignment to do."

The next day, we found out that Sirius Black had gotten in again! Except this time he'd managed to actually get into Gryffindor tower and into the dormitories. Ron Weasley had woken up to him standing over his bed with a knife. Apparently he'd gotten the wrong bed, but when Ron shouted, he got out quickly. A boy named Neville had written the list of the weeks passwords on a piece of parchment and then had lost it.

"Why do they change the password so much is my question?" Tasha asked. "No wonder he had to write them down! Why not change it once a month?"

"I think it usually is like that," Nick said. "But they don't have their usual portrait guarding the entrance. They have some mad portrait that keeps changing the passwords. The other one didn't want to go back in case Black showed up again and none of the others wanted the job. Seamus Finnegan told me that a while ago."

"Well I hope they get a better one after this," Tasha said. "The one they just had wasn't very good."

"It's scary how close he came though!" I said. "What if Ron hadn't woken up? What if he actually killed Ron to silence him?"

"I thought about that too," Tasha said. "I'm surprised he didn't! He didn't care about killing all those people before! All the boys in the dorm would have been sleeping. He could have killed Ron and then went after Harry!"

"I think it's because Ron shouted," Nick said. "It was loud enough to wake everyone in the tower. Black probably just wanted to get out of there. He'd probably have to kill them all but he'd still be caught. He's a murderer but he's obviously not stupid."

"That is true," Tasha said. "He really wants his revenge, doesn't he?"

"I'll say," Nick said.

Security tightened even more around the castle. I was surprised that they didn't have prefects leading us around again. Nick was worried his parents would make him go home for sure that time, but they just wrote to him to be careful. Olivia's parents didn't even make her leave, and I'd thought for sure we'd see her gone by Monday morning, but she was still there, even by the end of the week.

I noticed people were crowding around Ron Weasley a lot, likely to get his story about what had happened. I was curious myself, and we finally got close enough to him a few days later to ask him what had happened.

"Do you have nightmares now?" Tasha asked him. "I'd have nightmares of him if I were you!"

"Nah, I know he wouldn't dare come into Gryffindor tower again," he said.

"But what did he look like?" I asked. "I've only seen a picture from the wanted posters."

"Long matted hair and really skinny and scary looking, almost like a skeleton," Ron replied. "Looks like he could use a good meal."

"Could you imagine waking up to that?" Tasha asked later on to us. "I'd be having nightmares for sure."

"Probably does have nightmares," I said. "But he won't admit that. I think he's enjoying the attention even if it was scary."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Nick said. "Harry is always in the spotlight and now for once Ron is. Might as well let him savour it for once."

Shortly after that, it was the Easter Holidays. We were all given forms to fill out for new classes for third year. It wasn't easy for me to decide. On the way home, I sat going over the list. At one time, I'd considered Care of Magical Creatures but I wasn't so sure anymore. As much as I liked Hagrid, I'd heard his classes weren't that great. I doubted when I left Hogwarts I'd do anything with it, so I decided against it. I didn't tell Nick or Tasha my reasons, they both got so defensive about him.

I figured Arithmancy for sure but I was torn with the other classes. Everyone always said Divination was rubbish but fortune telling seemed kind of interesting anyway. Muggle Studies would be fun to take and then there was Ancient Runes. I was shocked Tasha didn't want to take it. She'd probably he ahead in it being muggleborn and all.

"But I'm not going to do anything with muggles when I leave," she said. "And I'm not taking a class just because it's easy."

My parents were willing to give her plenty of advice though. We talked about it later on in the living-room.

"Why would you want Divination?" Benny asked when I mentioned it. "It's rubbish. I can't believe you'd even consider it!"

"What do you know about it?" I asked with amusement.

"I've read plenty on the classes at Hogwarts," he said. "I want to be ready when I go! I've already read through your first year of spells book and I've pretended with my wand. Divination is all fortune telling and it's not even real."

"Some of it is," I said. "There have been actual prophecies you know."

"But seers are rare," Benny argued. "You'd do better with Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures."

"I'm not taking Care of Magical Creatures," I told him and then I smiled. "I can't believe you're giving me advice about my classes. You're too smart for your own good, you know that? At seven I wouldn't have known the difference. I just wanted to go."

"I'm almost eight," Benny reminded me. "And now that you and Brenda have gone all I ever do is read about it. Soon Brianne will be gone too."

"I still have to wait a little over a year though," Brianne said.

"Better than four years," Benny told her. "What about Brenda? She just went right upstairs again. Barely talked to us in the car. She's not in a bad mood again is she?"

"She's always in a bad mood," Brianne said. "Does she even have friends?"

"We didn't talk much this term," I said. "And she does have one friend. We tend to stay away from each other at school. I prefer it that way and I'm sure she does too."

"I just hope she does me the same favour," Brianne said. "But she's told me more than once she's going to watch me when I go."

"You just have to tell her to bugger off," I told her.

"Well, I hope you aren't too mean to her," mum said with a frown. "She is your little sister and I do want you to look out for her, especially with Sirius Black getting into the castle."

"I only tell her to bugger off when she's being a brat," I told mum. "And I checked up on her after Sirius got in. She was fine. In fact, she told me to stop hovering, so I'm sure she's fine. She didn't even like it when I wished her a Happy Birthday. She doesn't even like being around Kendra as much and they were inseparable."

"I asked Kendra about that," Tasha said. "I'm friendly with all the first years," she added when we all looked at her with confusion. "I just like to make sure they're okay you know? We were scared all the time last year. Anyway, I asked her if they're fighting and she said no. She said Brenda just likes to be alone at times too. She's not offended and she does like time to talk to the other girls. They all like Kendra, but they avoid her because of Brenda."

"I might ask her about that then," dad said with a frown. "I don't much like her being alone so much. She needs friends too."

"Please don't tell her I said anything," Tasha said. "She hasn't forgiven me for Christmas quite yet."

"Yes, just tell her it was me," I said quickly. "It was me after all."

"Don't worry," mum said to Tasha with a smile.

"She needs to get over that," Brianne said.

"Brenda stays angry a long time though," Benny reminded her. "Remember when I accidentally spilled juice all over her sweater? She still brings it up and I was four!"

"I forgot about that one," I said smiling. "But yes, Brenda typically doesn't let things go. She'll forgive you three years from now."

"So why did she just go upstairs?" Benny asked. "If she isn't angry, why doesn't she want to talk to us?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? You have time to see her. She'll come around."

"So Barry, anymore girlfriends?" Brianne asked with a smirk.

The Easter holidays went by rather quickly. Nick came over almost everyday. Each day we tried to lure Brenda out of her room, but she wouldn't budge. She wasn't exactly grumpy but she wasn't friendly either. She just wanted to be on her own which was strange. Mum just told us that twelve was an awkward time for a girl and perhaps she just needed time to herself for it. I wasn't sure if I agreed because Tasha usually didn't like to be alone for too long. Neither did the other girls.

"But everyone is different," mum said. "And Brenda has liked her private time for the last couple of years. I'm sure it's just a phase and it will pass. Best not to upset her."

"I'm going to try and get tickets for the final of the World Cup," dad told us our last day at home. "How would you like to go with us Tasha?"

"Ooh I'd love to!" Tasha said. "It will be a real Quidditch game. I mean, I know the school ones are real but this will be professional! Thank you so much for inviting me."

"Of course dear," mum told her. "We'd love to have you there, and we wrote to Nick as well. His parents said they are taking him, but perhaps we could all sit together. So we're going to try and get tickets together. Maybe campsites as well."

"Would you like money for it?" Tasha asked them.

"No dear, it's on. We just want to invite you," and then she turned to Brenda. "And you can ask Kendra if you'd like."

"I don't really want to go," she said. "Can't I stay at home or maybe I could even got to Kendra's."

"Well don't make your mind up quite yet about that," dad said. "It could be a lot of fun and it could be fun for Kendra too."

"Well, I'll ask her but I don't care for Quidditch that much," she replied.

"You go to the school ones," I said. "And that one is going to be amazing! It's the end of the World Cup Brenda."

"I'll think about it," she said.

"It hasn't been in Britain for years!" Benny told her. "You have to go. It will be a lot of fun!"

"And you can bring Sam along if you'd like," mum told him. "I'm sorry we don't have anyone your age Brianne."

"It's okay," Brianne said. "I'm just excited to be going! It's going to be so exciting."

"And we'll hang out with you too," Tasha told her.

"Us too!" Benny said. "We'll all keep you company."

Brianne grinned. "I appreciate it. I can't wait. I hope it doesn't take forever for summer to get here."

I felt the same way. Not only because I was excited for the game but because next year we'd be third years. We'd go to Hogsmeade and everything. No one really bothered with the third years either. Summer would be nice too of course.

When we got back to school, I'd decided on Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Divination (to Benny's annoyance) as my three classes. It wasn't a good idea to take more than that because the time table got too full. I wasn't even sure how someone was supposed to get to all their classes in a day. I didn't want too full of schedule.

I didn't understand Nick's reasoning with taking the easy classes. He'd decided on Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, so I convinced him into taking Arithmancy as well. I told him it was silly to do that but that Arithmancy could open up many doors.

"Fine, but if I can't do it, you're helping me," he told me.

"Don't I already?" I asked.

"Oh shut up," he said grinning. "Well, what about you Tasha?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes," she answered. "I did seriously consider Divination, but Benny has a point when he says it's pointless."

"Benny seemed adamant on that," Nick said with amusement. "That kid is too smart for his age."

"He's adorable though," Tasha said. "And he can give it back to Brenda when she gives him attitude."

"He learned not to take it from her, especially after last year. I told him not to let her walk all over him, so he hasn't," I said. "I think he's going to really miss Brianne when she goes. They're close."

"He's starting to look more and more like you," Tasha said. "At least he's grown a bit. He was upset about that."

"I think a couple of inches yes," I said. "He's still smaller than I was at that age. I don't know why that is. I was teasing him about it the other day but he doesn't seem to be self-conscious about it anymore. All he said was that smaller was cuter."

"He's going to be one of those kids that will grow tall once it really starts. He'll be like Ivan I bet. He was smaller than all of us last year and now look at him," Nick said. "I bet he grew again while we were gone. Maybe he's taking something. I wish I'd grow."

"You have," Tasha assured him. "You both have. All three of us were the same height when we started and how you're both taller. I just hope I'm not done growing."

"You grew," I said pointing to her robes where her socks were showing. "You didn't grow last year but you'll need new ones in the summer."

"I still feel like I'm looking up at everyone except maybe Gretchen," she said.

"We should have measured ourselves," Nick said. "We could check at the end of seventh year to see how much we have in seven years."

"Mum measures our heights all the time," I said. "She will in the summer. All three of us were about the same height so we can go by that. If we were any different it'd probably just be a centimeter or so."

"Mum and dad did until I got my letter," Tasha said. "I'll check when I get home. I expect it's a few inches I grew."

As the summer term began, I started to spend more time down in the library. Surprisingly, during these times Brenda joined me. I didn't complain because she never talked except to ask me a question about one of her assignments, but also because I could show her some second year work as well. When I did this, it was a good refresher for me.

"It would be more organized to make a study timetable you know," Brenda told me. "I'm going to start doing that next year. Actually, I might do that later tonight. I want to do really well on these exams. There are a couple people who are doing better than me and I want to be top of the year. It's Transfiguration and Charms I have a problem with. I don't understand why and I've heard the older students say that Charms is easy."

"Maybe for them," I said. "It gets more complicated and so does Transfiguration. You're passing at least."

"Yes, and I've improved greatly in Transfiguration, but there is something about Charms that doesn't work for me," she said. "Do you ever struggle with it?"

"At times, but it's Herbology for me at times. I don't get it because they're plants. I was happy when we moved on from mandrakes. I could never plant them properly, and I hated having earmuffs. Potions is my best class and Astronomy is my second best, then Transfiguration. The rest are around the middle. Garth told me that it's about third year when you really start figuring out where your strengths are because it's intermediate level. So you never know, things could change in two years for you."

"But I have trouble with colour charms and lighting my wand!" Brenda said. "And it took me forever with the unlocking charm too! Professor Flitwick said someday we'd be combining some together. If I can't do one, how do I more than one?"

"That's not until at least fifth year I think," I said. "A lot of things you come to combine Transfiguration and Charms. That will really complicated. I don't know if we have to do it here, but that's how McGonagall got her giant chess set to work."

"I imagine a lot of things work that way," Brenda said with a sigh. "Professor Lupin showed us some dark arts detectors too, so those must combine many spells as well. It's so overwhelming to think of all we need to learn."

"I know what you mean," I said. "I was watching the fifth years practice for their OWLs and I haven't learned any of that they were doing. I still have three years of study to get through before I do it. Then there are the exams themselves. Chester and Ralph have said they piled the homework on. They do it in seventh year too but Garth said it's a breeze compared to fifth."

"Plus you get to drop some classes," Brenda said. "I don't want to think about fifth year though. I need to get through first year first. I really hope I pass these exams."

"You'll pass," I assured her. "There is no way you'll fail."

"Well, I will if we keep talking instead of studying," she said to me with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, but you started talking first," I reminded her. "But let's work on Charms first. That's the one you're worried about the most."

It was actually a pleasant evening with her, and I realized that she was normal when it came to studying. I figured that would be the best way to bond with her if I wanted to. I supposed I should have realized that a long time ago.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch match came up shortly. I didn't go down, but I regretted it when everyone came up celebrating. Apparently it had been a really good game and Gryffindor had won. Everyone would rather see any team but Slytherin win again. So even though we had a loss that year, everyone was really happy anyway.

Even the fifth and seventh years decided to have a break and their exams were coming up very soon. Seeing them take a break, I decided to join in on the party too. I wouldn't have gotten much studying done anyway. The common room was too loud.

"If we're partying like this, can you imagine the Gryffindor common room right now?" Nick asked.

"Probably Hufflepuff is partying too," I said. "Slytherin will be the only house that isn't."

"Well, it doesn't take much for the Hufflepuff's to party," Nick said. "Didn't Olivia ever tell you? That's basically the party house. I'm a bit surprised. I always thought they'd be the tame ones but almost every weekend they're celebrating something."

"She did, but I'd forgotten about it," I said. "She doesn't like it."

"If I'd known about that I'd have asked the hat to put me in Hufflepuff," Nick said smirking.

"Ravenclaw is best," Garth said as he joined us.

He'd come over levitating a tray of drinks. He set it on the table in front of us.

"Now go on," he said. "Drink up. No one really complains much when you're third years and lets face it, the three of you will be in less than two months."

Nick happily grabbed a glass and took a few sips.

"So only one drink and that's it?" I asked with a wink as I reached for my own.

"Nope, I'll let you have more. In moderation of course. I'll let you feel how it's like to be buzzed," he said. "I'll be back in about an hour. Make sure you drink water or butterbeer in between."

"Which means don't chug," I told Nick.

Tasha grabbed a glass as well, and then Garth levitated the tray and walked off. I watched him go. As I did, I decided I'd do the same thing someday for the second years at the end of the year. It felt good being allowed and I didn't need to get drunk but being buzzed would feel nice. I'd gotten a nice one the year before but at the previous New Years I hadn't.

"Brenda doesn't seem impressed that everyone is partying," Tasha said as she glanced across the room.

I glanced in her direction. Indeed Brenda wasn't happy at all. She was glaring around the common room. Likely, she was wondering why we were celebrating even though it wasn't our house that won. Moments later, she snapped her books shut and then headed to the dormitories.

"She needs to liven up a bit," Nick said. "Anyway, cheers. To passing and finally being intermediate students."

"To passing," Tasha and I said as we clicked glasses.

Call me conceited, but I wasn't worried about failing. After that night, I could see people getting really nervous about the upcoming exams. In the library, I saw some first year Hufflepuff's at a table beside Brenda and me looking as if they were close to tears.

"Invite them over here," I told her.

"No," she said to me.

"We can help them help. It's prefect material to help your fellow students you know," I told her.

"If it means that much to you, than you do it!" She snapped. "I'm not doing it. They're a bunch of fuddy duddies anyway. Don't know why you care more about helping them than me."

"Oh don't even start that," I said to her glaring. "I've caught you up in Charms. You'll never make prefect with your attitude," and I got up before she could say another word. I walked over to the Hufflepuff's who all looked up at me with surprise. A couple girls elbowed each other and then giggled when I looked at them. I didn't understand why but I ignored this. "I just wanted to know if you lot wanted some help. You look a little stressed. I'm Barry, a second year Ravenclaw."

"Ooh sure," a girl said excitedly.

"With the priss?" A boy asked as he glanced over at Brenda who was glaring at us.

She obviously heard him because she stood up and scowled right at me as she packed up her books.

"Don't worry, I am leaving," she snapped.

"Well, then I might as well bring my books over here then," I said and I walked over to grab them.

I headed back over to them and took a seat. The girls were still rather giggly while the boys were staring at them with looks of confusion.

"How do you the priss?" The boy who had spoken earlier asked me.

"She's my sister," I answered. "I take it you lot don't get along?"

"She acts like she is better than us or something," he answered. "I sure hope that's not why you've come over to help."

"No," I answered firmly. "Brenda and I aren't the same. I don't understand why she hasn't bothered to get along with you lot, but I get along with most of my year. I noticed you were stressed and I just took the exams last year, so I thought I'd help. I'd rather she had stayed too because I was helping her but she's gone."

"She doesn't think much of us Hufflepuff's," a girl answered. "But she doesn't think much of the Ravenclaw's either. Only that Kendra girl."

"Hmm, well, I'll talk to her about that," I said. "So what were you working on?"

"Potions," another boy said.

"Excellent. My best subject and it's what Brenda and I were working on. I was showing her some second year potions too. It helps me refresh. So I'll see what you have to do, and then I can help you show some second year assignments," I said.

We were at it for about half-hour before Nick and Tasha came over to join us. Neither asked why I was helping the first years, but I had helped some of the Ravenclaws after all. They just sat with us and began answering some of their questions too. I felt like it was a productive night and the Hufflepuff's looked less stressed by the time they began to pack up their books.

"Thanks for helping us Barry," Mary (I'd learned their names while we'd sat there) said to me. "I feel quite prepared now. If I get high marks in potions it will be you I have to thank."

"You're really trying hard for this prefect job aren't you?" Nick asked with a grin once they were gone.

"It's not just that," I told him. "And the thought occured to me. It's just that they looked quite stressed. Brenda was with me, but they don't like her so she left and I came over here to help. It really does help with my studying to help them."

"I noticed that too," Tasha said. "It really does help."

"I do agree, but I think most of the girls enjoyed your help for other reasons," Nick said. "But you know, we didn't actually do our exams last year. How can you tell these first years that-"

"But I have an idea of what was on them," I said. "I still have all those practice sheets. Besides, Garth told me some things as well. They'll do just fine."

"Sometimes I forget," Tasha said.

"I do too," I told her. "I was showing Brenda what was on the exams before I remembered."

"How can you two forget? That was the best moment last year. I keep hoping Sirius will be caught and then we will have them canceled again," Nick said. "You two are so weird."

"Coming from him, that's a compliment," Tasha said to me giggling.

Nick and I started to laugh as well.

"If you're not here to study, out!" Madam Pince said as she suddenly came around the row of books.

Still laughing all three of us put our things in our bags and hurried out of the library.

Exams came and to me, they all seemed so easy. We had practicals and written exams. I had some questions that I struggled with, especially with Transfiguration and Herbology but otherwise I felt I did really well and I knew even with some of the questions that I missed, I'd passed either way. I noticed other people leaving looking a bit pale but relieved.

I sought out my sister to see how she felt she did. She was still quite angry with me for working with the Hufflepuff's so she was a little cool towards me as she told me how it had been.

"I expect I passed Charms," she informed me.

"Well I figured you would," I told her.

In the common room later, it was to find Nick and Tasha looking quite upset and I couldn't figure out why that was. Did Sirius Black enter the castle again or something?

"Hagrid has kept me up to date with his hearing and all," Nick said. "He lost back in April and he had the appeal today, but he lost. They're going to execute the Hippogriff. He's told us not to go down."

"I wish we could be with him for it," Tasha said with tears shining in his eyes. "We should have just visited him anyway this year. I feel as if we've abandoned him."

"We can't go down there," I said. "I'd like to visit him as well, but you two know we can't. If we're caught out there, we will be in big trouble. Considering the lengths they are going to protect us, I don't imagine it will just be detention. We'll try tomorrow morning if we can. We'll try before the term ends. It's the best we can do."

"You're right," Nick said with a sigh. "Might as well celebrate with everyone else then. Wonder if your sister will join in for once."

"I don't know," I said as I looked around for her but I didn't see her around anywhere. "I don't expect so. There are my cousins though. Want to hang out with them? Garth will be gone soon."

"They'll let us drink," Tasha said. "It can make us forget I suppose."

"Uh oh," Nick said suddenly smirking. "It's never a good sign when you need alcohol to forget your problems."

"Oh stop," Tasha said. "You knew what I meant."

"I don't think I knew what she meant," I said to Nick. "Did you?"

"Not a clue. Looks like our friend has a problem," Nick said to me.

"You two are prats," she said and then she got up and walked over to join Garth, Chester, Ralph and some of their friends. They all greeted her happily. One of the girls gave her a drink. Nicole was her name I believed. She was a seventh year.

Nick and I quickly got to our feet and hurried over to them. As I reached them, I remembered that they'd just taken their OWLs and NEWTs, so of course they were happy. Our exams were likely easy compared to what they had just done. Drinks were thrust into our hands the moment we sat down.

"To be your age again," Garth said with a sigh. "I'm not ready to go yet."

"I am," Penelope said. "I love it here, but I am ready to start my life."

"A life with Percy Weasley?"

She just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh come on," a boy who was familiar to me, but I didn't know his name. "You two have been together for two years now. You've got to be shagging at least. I just hope we get an invitation to the wedding."

Penelope just slapped his arm. She didn't say anything to that. She just smiled at us and then moved over to join a few sixth year girls. I was surprised she didn't mind us drinking. I'd heard enough about Percy Weasley to know that this would not be okay. Chances are the Gryffindors were celebrating at the moment too. If his brother Ron tried to get a drink, he wouldn't let him.

I said this to Garth as soon as I noticed she was distracted by the girls she'd joined.

"He wouldn't allow seventh years to drink," Garth said with a smirk. "I'm sure they'll all be happy after this year. I heard he told off a bunch of seventh years when we were your age. I think he might have even ratted them out. Good thing he's not in Hufflepuff. They look for a party for any reason. So do Slytherins. I heard the last Slytherin party would put the Hufflepuff's to shame."

"I'm actually surprised by that," I said. "I don't believe their boring but they just seem like a tame lot."

"They're just content most of the time," Chester said. "Not always. At times there are some who don't have much self-esteem and they can complain, but otherwise they're usually happy. I love being a Ravenclaw but my second choice would be Hufflepuff for sure."

"We don't get that much chance to talk to them," Nick said. "How is it that you lot all seem to get along with different years and different houses? That isn't to say we don't get along with them we just haven't gotten the chance to meet them much either. It seems you get along with three different years."

"That changes as you get older," Ralph told him. "Next year you'll be taking more classes with other houses with the new classes. Also, you just tend to well… mature a bit. In the first and second years, and sometimes even third people tend to stick to their houses. They let them define them more. Once you get older it changes. Hell, we didn't even really start talking to the other years until the end of last year," he said indicating himself and Chester.

"I'd noticed," I said.

"In seventh year you have more activities that unite you though," Garth continued. "Probably by the end of next year you'll see a change. I've heard you helped some of the Hufflepuffs with their exams. You also had a girlfriend in Hufflepuff. You're slowly breaking out of our House. I expect by seventh year all three of you will have friends besides each other. You're doing it now by hanging out with us. Last year you only talked to me. Quite a few times we've all hung out."

"But how often do you let first or second years hang out with you?" Tasha asked him. "If it weren't for Barry and Brenda, you likely wouldn't talk much to the first and second years except to help them."

"Not true," Garth said. "Why do you think I'm friends with the fifth and sixth years all sitting here with us? It had nothing to do with Chester and Ralph. I told Barry last year that we didn't often talk. I was talking to their fifth year friends more than them."

"And we do interact with the first and second years too," Nicole said. "It just depends on how friendly they are. Some don't want to hang out with us and some do. I have quite a few third and fourth year friends," and with that she waved to a group of third and fourth years standing together. "If you ever listen to the Sorting Hats songs, you'll notice it often tells us to unite and we have to start with our own houses before we do the other houses. Though it's often hard with Slytherin. Too much resentment still, but maybe someday that will go away."

"And we also know your second year classmates," Ralph told me. "We've talked to them too."

And then he scanned the room until he found the boys near the dormitories door. He let out a whistle with his fingers and when they looked up, he waved them over. Without hesitation, the boys got up and walked over.

"We'll be leaving after this year," Garth said once they were sitting. "It's time you lot all get along with the other years so you can take over the common room someday. Where are the girls? And the firsties?"

"Firsties are right there," Ivan said. "I can get them."

"Where is Brenda?" Chester asked me.

"Probably hiding upstairs," I said. "She won't come out. She hates parties even with the exams over. Guess it's good she didn't wasn't put in Hufflepuff if they're the party house."

"She wouldn't fit in there at all," Kendra said who had joined us on her own. She must have been curious. "She's my best friend but she can be a bit much. Sometimes I think she'd fit in better in Slytherin."

"No," a bunch of fifth years said. "They'd eat her alive," a girl added.

It was odd that so many of these people knew my sister so well. I assumed she must have angered a lot of them besides my classmates and her own.

"She told us off for partying during Gryffindor's win," a sixth year beside Penelope said. "Don't know what she is thinking telling off people older than her," and she turned to Penelope. "Sounds a lot like your boyfriend."

"Percy can be a bit much… but he is kind," she said. "And I don't think he is quite as bad as that little girl."

Perhaps I should have felt bad that my sister was the topic of conversation among several different years, but she had brought it on herself. It was her own fault. I couldn't protect her from everything after all. She had to learn for herself that she was angering people, and that they didn't like her. I just hoped she'd find out before she had too many people who hated her.

I was relieved when the subject change none-the-less. Everyone went back to just celebrating. Usually everyone stuck to their own groups, but that night first years were talking to seventh years and everyone was talking outside their groups. In a way, I wished we were having a party in the common room. We could get to know the other houses better that way. I decided to take Garth's advice and talk to the other houses as much as I could the next year, and to continue getting to know the younger students as well.

The next morning I had a slight headache. The older kids hadn't given a damn that first and second years were drinking. Everyone was just so happy that exams were all over. I think I was actually drunk for the first time in my life. I could understand now why the older kids loved it so much.

Nick was shaking me awake the next day. I tried to roll away, but he wouldn't let me.

"Come on," he said. "We said we'd see Hagrid today!"

That got me up. I was just as concerned about him. So I jumped up and got dressed quickly. I spent extra time on my teeth because I'd had a horrible taste in my mouth. I expected my breath stunk too. When we got downstairs, it was to find Tasha already waiting for us.

"Hurry, let's go," she said. "I hope he isn't hung over. I expect he's the type to drink his problems away."

"Kind of like you?" Nick asked.

"Oh don't start that again," she said. "We'll just grab some food from the Great Hall and go."

So that's what we did. I noticed a group of students leaving Hagrid's hut just as we were about half-way there. I remembered we weren't his only friends. He was friends with quite a few of the students but I suspected he was the closest to Harry Potter and his friends.

We knocked on his door. Hagrid opened it instantly and it wasn't the crying hung-over man I expected to see, but a very happy man.

"Ah it's you three," he said happily. "Well come in, come in."

"You seem… well, happy," Nick said. "Did they change their minds?"

"Buckbeak got away," Hagrid said happily. "Not sure how. 'Spect I didn't tie him well enough. I was emotional. He's always been a smart one. Knew what was goin' to 'appen to him and he flew off."

"Is that really what happened?" Tasha asked him doubtfully. "I mean, I am glad he got away but you didn't tie it loose on purpose did you?"

"No. Didn' wanna get meself in trouble or Dumbledore," Hagrid told her. "Bad enough that Sirius Black got away."

"Got away?" I asked.

"Didn' yeh hear at breakfast?" He asked.

"We didn't go to breakfast," Nick said. "We just grabbed some food to eat on the way here. We had a late morning. Party in the common room, you know?"

"Ah well, they had 'im captured last nigh'" Hagrid explained. "Caught him in the Shrieking Shack. Snape caught 'im from what I heard and they locked him up. Somehow managed to escape anyway."

"Wow," Nick said. "He was probably living there all year. But how was he getting into the castle?"

"Well don' go tryin' to get in there," Hagrid said. "But the Whomping Willow is planted right over the passage way to the Shack. That's how he was getting in all year. Used to use for Lupin you see. When he was a child they accepted into 'Ogwarts on the condition he went down there every month. Him and Black were friends see, so Black knew about the tunnel and took shelter down there."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

Something connected in my mind though. I hadn't given it much thought but I remembered the essay Snape had given us months ago. Lupin disappeared every month and now that I thought about it, it was at the full moon. That could mean that-

"Lupin is a werewolf?" I asked aloud.

"'Spect yeh didn't hear that either," Hagrid said grinning. "Yes, Snape told the Slytherin's at breakfast this mornin'. He's resigned. Guess he was out loose in the grounds last nigh' and he's worried about it 'appening again. Normally he takes a potion, but he'd forgotten las' nigh'"

Nick and Tasha exchanged glances.

"Is that why Snape gave that essay to so many classes?" Tasha asked. "He always hated Lupin. He probably wanted someone to find out."

"I expect it was," I said. "If I'd really thought about it before I'd have figured it out but I never cared. He was a good teacher though. It's a shame we're losing him over that. He shouldn't go though. Last night was a mistake but he was careful all year."

"Lupin thinks parents will be writin' with complaints soon enough," Hagrid answered. "Can't say I blame them."

"No I suppose not," Nick said. "Mum and dad would be but he was a great teacher. He caught us up from last year. Why would Snape just rat him out like that?"

"He thinks Lupin had to do with Black gettin' in the castle," Hagrid answered. "He weren' but the two were friends years ago. Snape was angry that he lost his Order of Merlin over the escape yeh see. So he took it out on Lupin."

"The things you miss when you're hung over," Nick said.

"Well, I am going to write him later," I said. "Let him know he was a great teacher and that we'll miss him. I want him to know that not all of us are prejudice."

"Well, not all werewolves are like Professor Lupin," Tasha said.

"Not all Slytherin's are bad either," I reminded her. "Can't lump everyone together. Not all Ravenclaws are snobby."

After we left Hagrids, we spent the day outside. It was a hot kind of day and no one wanted to be inside. Most people had taken a spot by the lake. I could see Garth and his friends even standing in the lake. I watched them wondering where Sirius Black was now. He must be gone from the area. He'd been caught and he'd gotten away. There was no way that he'd stick around now. If he was smart, he'd leave the country. He'd go far away where no one even knew him.

Our marks were posted not too much longer after that. I'd moved up that year. I wasn't top of the year yet, but I was third from the top. Perhaps next year I'd make it to the top. I couldn't help myself, I checked the first year list for Brenda's name to see how she'd done. She hadn't spoken to me since our last conversation, and she didn't seem as if she wanted to. I found her name, she was in the top ten, so she'd done quite well but I knew she'd be beating herself up over it. She wanted at least in the top five. I just hoped she wouldn't blame me.

Next thing I knew, our trunks were packed and we were waiting for the horseless carriages. The next time I was back at the castle, I'd be a third year. This time I didn't feel quite as bad about leaving the castle. I'd be back, we had the World Cup to look forward to and Hogsmeade next year.


	13. Third Year Part One

Third Year Part One

"One more year," Brianne sang as she hopped around my room. "Exactly one year and I will be at Hogwarts!"

I sat on my bed and watched her with amusement.

It was a week into the summer holidays. All week, it was all she could talk about. Brenda had already lost it on her, but I didn't mind so much. She'd watched the two of us go, she was probably more excited than either one of us to be going. It was also probably hard to have to wait another year. So while I knew I'd probably be annoyed by the end of summer, I didn't plan to tell her off either.

"I heard mum and dad are planning to home school you," I said as I watched her make another lap. "Might want to talk to them about that."

"They wouldn't do that," she said. "They'd probably send me after a week because I'd just annoy them so much. Brenda and Benny aren't the only ones who can throw temper tantrums you know."

"I've seen yours," I said. "Believe me, I know."

She ran over to my bed and jumped on it.

"I just wish I could go this year! It's going to be so exciting," she said. "The Tri-Wizard Tournament hasn't been around forever! I think at least the seventeen hundreds and you and Brenda get to watch it! Maybe even compete! Are you going to put your name in Barry?"

"Of course," I told her. "A thousand Galleons as prize money? I'd be mad not to."

When we'd gotten home from school, mum and dad had given us a surprising announcement. Hogwarts was going to be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament the next school year. It was a tourament where three different Wizarding schools competed. Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts. There were three different tasks to compete in and the one with the most points won and got prize money too. They'd stopped it years ago because people had died. Mum and dad said there were more safety precautions this time though.

"I'd love to go, but I guess first years wouldn't be allowed would they?"

"I don't see why not," I said.

"They wouldn't know enough magic would they? I mean, they are making sure it's safer this time but I imagine you'd need to know magic anyway," she said with a sigh. "I know you write quite a bit, but you need to keep us updated even more Barry. I want to know everything! Do you think Harry Potter will try?"

"Course he will," I said. "But I bet even Brenda will try."

"She is no fun," Brianne said. "You said she'd better once she went to school but she is worse. I'm so tired of it. I'm just glad that I have the curtain. All she wants to do is stay in her room and she's upset about her marks. She passed and she's the top ten. Why does it matter."

"You know she's a perfectionist though," I said.

"Well, I'll be glad when summer is over. It's been rather peaceful with her gone," she replied. "I'm surprised she hasn't even complained once. It's only the beginning of summer though."

"Yes, give her time," I said. "I'll take pictures for you and Benny if I can. If I am not picked that is."

All week I'd been daydreaming about what it'd be like to be Champion of Hogwarts. All the girls would love me and everyone would probably want to know me. I'd be as famous as Potter likely. I knew my fair share of spells. I could do the tasks no problem.

"Ooh I really hope you are! I bet if you are than we can go too!" Brianne said. "They'll likely let the families watch!"

"I'm sure they would," I told her. "Then you can at least get a glimpse of Hogwarts. Wait until you see it from across the lake the first time!"

"Why couldn't I have been born a year earlier?" Brianne asked.

"It will come soon enough. Just imagine if you were Benny's age," I said.

"True. He still has forever to go," she replied.

Speak of the devil, I thought to myself as Benny suddenly appeared. He appeared in the doorway looking a bit annoyed. I wondered if he'd overheard us or something.

"Brenda is a nightmare," he said as he walked over. "All I did was ask her if she'd try to put her name in the Goblet of Fire and she told me not to be dumb. That doesn't even answer my question. Am I dumb for thinking she will or won't?"

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "No point in getting upset over something she says."

"I wish I was old enough to go," he said. "It's going to take forever for me to be old enough. I hate waiting forever."

"We all had to do it mate," I said. "Someday you'll be there. I'd rather the time didn't go by too quick. When you start, I will be a seventh year. I'll have a year left."

"But you'll know lots of magic," he said.

He climbed onto the bed with us.

"So you'll enter won't you?" He asked.

I started to laugh. Of course he'd ask that right after we'd just discussed it. Now even more than ever I wanted to be the champion. I knew both him and Brianne would be so impressed over it. I just had to be picked! I knew so much and I was sure I was well qualified.

Time seemed to drag on as we waited to go to the final for the World Cup. It would be Ireland against Bulgarian. The Bulgarian team had Victor Krum. He was the same age as Garth and yet he was a professional Quidditch player. He was one of the best Seekers out there and just seventeen! The Irish were really good too. It would be them we'd be supporting even though I was looking forward to seeing Krum the most.

Dad had wanted to try and get seats in the top box but they were sold out. We did manage to get seats with Nick's parents though and a campsite. So all of us could at least be together. Tasha's parents had given her permission to go as long as they didn't have to pay for anything. Brenda was still undecided on whether or not she was going to go. Just as she'd spent all of the Easter holidays in her room, she did the same for the summer.

We had to get up quite early to look for the port-key the day of, so Nick's family were going to come stay the night. Apparently the Ministry were putting port-key's all over the UK close to wizarding families. They figured it was best since people from all over the world were coming to watch.

"You need to let us know or we are going to decide for you," mum told Brenda the morning before at the breakfast table, who still hadn't given her answer.

"Oh just come," Benny told her. "You're going to regret it if you don't."

"Whatever, I'll go," she replied. "Don't know why all of you have to make it harder than is has to be."

"I think it's you who is making it harder than it has to be," Brianne muttered.

"Tasha is going to bunk in with you girls tonight, Benny, Sam, and Nick will be with Barry while Nick's parents can take Benny's room," mum said. "I take it Kendra won't be coming, Brenda?"

"She said yes a while back," Brenda said. "So if you still have an extra ticket I should be able to invite her if Barry and Benny can bring friends."

"You should have said something earlier than," dad told her angrily. "Go on and floo over there then. I am getting rather tired of this though Brenda. Next time don't wait until the last minute. If she'd told you yes, you should have told us when she did."

"Well I didn't know if I was going," she retorted.

"And you should have made up your mind before today," mum said. "We've been trying to prepare. Brenda, for someone who likes to be prepared ahead of time, you are certainly ignorant."

"Well, I care when it just affects me," she replied with a shrug.

"This didn't just affect you!" I said. "It affected all of us."

"Shut up," she said getting up and walking off.

"I don't know how much more of her attitude I can take," dad said turning to mum. "I'm fed up."

"I know, I'll talk to her again after the World Cup," she replied. "She's getting worse."

Brianne, Benny and I all exchanged looks but didn't say anything. We'd all tried to talk to her, even Benny went in her room to try and get through to her, but it didn't work. She told us she wasn't even angry and that she just wanted to be on her own. She would even eat dinners in her room if allowed. She certainly did during the day. Mum and dad were actually going to let her baby-sit that summer but she didn't want to.

Tasha arrived later that morning, and then Sam did shortly before lunch. Benny yelled out excitedly to see his best friend. Apparently they hadn't seen each other for about a month. The two took off upstairs to his room. Mum called up after him to remember that later they'd be sleeping in my room.

"You'll be bunking in with Brianne tonight," I told Tasha. "She has an extra bed under hers. Nick and his parents should be here soon. They are taking Benny's room and the boys will be in my room. There are some cots set up in mine."

"I can't wait to go," she said. "It's going to be amazing isn't it?"

"Yes, it will make the school ones look like childs play," I answered. "Remember how fast Harry was on his Firebolt? They all have Firebolts so it will be like that but I bet they are even faster than him."

"Wow," she said. "We are in for an exciting year, aren't we?"

I'd told her about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She wanted to put her name the Goblet as well, and I knew Nick did as well.

"I got my school things yesterday," Tasha said. "Luna told me about the Knight Bus, well, obviously that's how I got here today too but I went so I could get everything. I wonder what we need dress robes for. Did you get your things already?"

"We did that a couple days ago," I said. "Should have told me when you were going. We could have met up. We had to get them too. I did wonder how you were getting here today. I knew you couldn't floo so I'd wondered if your parents had driven you."

"They won't take me anywhere that has to do with this world," she said. "They were annoyed when I tried to explain Quidditch to them. They just told me to come and that they weren't paying. I'm here for the rest of the summer now. I told your parents when I got here."

"Good," I said. "And you might as well be. We're going back very soon."

"That's what they figured," she said. "But I made quite a bit this year with baby-sitting. I did night sitting too, not just day sitting. I had more than enough for school and for Hogsmeade too."

"So they signed the form?" I asked her with surprise.

"Yes," mum did it quickly. "I worried too that she wouldn't. I showed her the form and she asked where to sign. I would have just forged her signature if she hadn't. I'm quite good at it."

"Quite the rebel," I laughed.

"Well, I wasn't missing out on Hogsmeade," she replied. "I assumed back in first year that I may need their permission for things. I figured they wouldn't, so I took mum's signature to school and I practiced when I could. By the end of last year, I was able to do it perfectly. At least in the future if I need their permission, I can do it."

Nick and his parents didn't show up until after we'd had dinner. Tasha, Brianne, Benny, Sam and me were all sitting in my room. We'd just started up a game of Monopoly. My piece was just moving to Parks Place when Nick entered with a bag.

"Hey Hoofers," he said as he dropped it on the floor.

"I'm not a Hoofer," Tasha said.

"Yes, well we're a minority in here," Nick said. "Isn't Brenda inviting a friend here too?"

"Yes, she might already be here," I said. "They won't come in here. I expect they'll try to keep to themselves even tomorrow too."

"Hmm, how long has this game been going on for? I'd like to play too."

"Not long," Benny said. "Just grab a piece and join in. The bank will buy you in."

"I wish all Monopoly's were like this," Tasha said as money began flying out at Nick as he grabbed the dog piece. "We have to count it out on our own. We have to move the pieces ourselves too. This way no one can cheat."

"Well, dad charmed it," I told her. "It probably was normal at one time."

"It's impressive," she said. "I can't believe how much we still have to learn sometimes."

"I know, I've been thinking that a lot lately," I said.

"I'd like to get where you three are," Brianne said. "And I've never seen you do magic."

"Us too," Benny said speaking for Sam. "Think about how we feel. It's going to be forever for us."

"I wish I could go when you are," Sam said. "At least you're going sooner."

"Still a long time," Benny said. "And this year they have the Tri-Wizard Tournament!"

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"You don't know?" Benny asked him with shock.

"Not everyone can read books older than their age," I reminded him. "Just because you seem to know more than even me sometimes, it doesn't mean he should. Just explain it to him."

Benny began explaining it while we played. I imagined he'd read it in Hogwarts: A History. Tasha had known about it too from that book. Mum and dad had bought it for Brianne and Benny last summer after they'd begged for it when Tasha had shown them her copy. So they'd known what it was when mum and dad had announced it. I'd heard of it, but I didn't know too much about it. It had been a bit annoying for my brother to act superior when it came to his knowledge on the topic.

"Barry is going to enter," Benny concluded. "And he'll be chosen."

"Will write to me when you do get in?" Sam asked.

"If I get in," I told them. "Remember there are bigger kids who know more. I'll try and I'll send you lot pictures."

"And I might just get in anyway," Nick said with a grin.

"Well, one of you have to keep us updated," Brianne said. "I wish I was going."

"A year my little friend," Nick said with a grin. "And remember what you said about our birthdays."

"I haven't forgotten," he said.

"I'll be twelve and you'll be fifteen," she went on. "That's hard to imagine being that old."

"Yes because it's so very old," Nick said laughing.

Mum and dad came in about an hour into our game.

"It's time to stop the game," mum told us. "All of you are to go to bed now. We're getting up at five in the morning. You can play the rest when we get home," and with a wave of her wand she moved it before any of us could protest. It went up on top of my dresser. "Come on girls, let's go. You'll be very tired if you don't go now."

Tasha and Brianne sighed but got up. I glanced at the clock to see it was even nine yet. It wasn't even Benny's usual bed time. I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone to sleep this early. I'd likely be laying awake a long time.

"It's not my normal bed time," Benny informed them.

"It is tonight," mum said and before he could say another word they left.

"Well this is rubbish," he muttered but he climbed onto one of the cots and laid down.

Sam made a face too but didn't say anything. He went to the other cot to lay down.

"Bed before nine," Nick said as he began rummaging in his bag for his pajamas. "This is mad. I'll still be awake hours from now. Least they could do is give us a sleeping potion."

"We'll be all drowsy tomorrow though," I said as I pulled out my own pajamas.

"We'll be tired either way," Nick said.

I quickly changed into my pajamas, turned off the lights and then climbed into bed. I was too excited to sleep. I laid there staring at my ceiling. Mum and dad had decorated my room to be all Ravenclaw. The ceiling had stars and a moon on it though to reflect the ceiling in the Great Hall. It was no where near as realistic but it still calmed me at times. I wasn't even sure how many stars there were up there. I just stared at them until I felt myself slowly doze off.


	14. Third Year Part Two

It seemed I just fell asleep when dad was shaking me awake. When he saw I was awake, he moved onto wake Nick. Sam and Benny were already sitting up and rubbing their eyes.

"Hurry and dress, boys," dad told us. "We're just going to get going. We'll have breakfast when we get there."

"I'm going to be too hungry to walk," Benny complained. "I'm tired too."

"You'll be fine Benny," dad told him. "You've been asking us to treat you like a big boy lately. So be a big boy and get ready."

Benny let out a sigh but he got out of bed as the lights went on. Sam moved slower than everyone else. He had a scowl on his face. I decided my parents knew what they were doing by making us sleep so early. I remembered last year when Benny and Brianne had been so grumpy when we'd gone. I figured mum and dad didn't want that again.

Dad left the room and we dressed quickly. Only Sam took his time. Impatiently, I hurried over and grabbed his sweater to pull it over his head.

"I can do it myself!" Sam said angrily afterwards.

"Sure but you take too long," I said. "Now come on."

"You're mean," he said.

"Yes I am. Now come on," I said and I turned to leave the room.

We were likely going to have to listen to whiny kids that morning. I hoped they went back to sleep after we arrived. When I got downstairs, it was to see that Brenda and Kendra were downstairs already and so were Nick's parents.

"Where are the others?" Mum asked.

"They should be coming down too," I said. "They were all dressed. I had to help Sam and he's angry now."

Nick and Benny appeared moments later.

"Have a good sleep dear?" Nick's mum asked.

"Not really, it took forever to fall asleep," he said. "I might take a nap when we get there."

"I think all of you kids should have a lie in," mum said when Sam appeared looking very grumpy. "The game isn't until tonight and we don't want anyone tired or grumpy."

"I'll be fine," Brenda said. "I'm not napping."

"Then don't complain that you're tired later," dad told her.

"I don't see we have to leave so early," she said as Brianne and Tasha finally appeared, both rubbing sleep out of their eyes. "You can all apparate. Just apparate us there."

"We are taking the port-key," dad said. "Brenda, stop with the attitude!"

"Dad, my legs are going to be too tired to walk," Benny said.

"I can carry you mate," Nick's father said and he walked over and picked him up.

"My legs are tired too," Sam whined.

"Just give me a moment," dad told him. "I'll carry you."

"How far do we have to walk?" Brianne asked.

"About a mile," mum told her. "You'll be okay, won't you dear?"

"Of course," she said. "I just wanted to know."

"Well, I think all is in order," dad finally said. "We can go."

"Aren't we going to need a tent and our things?" I asked.

"Don't worry about any of that dear," mum told me. "It's all taken care of."

"Meaning?" Brenda asked.

"It's already there," mum told her. "We went it before we woke you. It's why we asked that you have everything ready last night."

"Ours too?" Nick asked his parents.

"Yes, ours is all there too. We just need to catch the port-key now and then we can walk to our sites," Nick's mum answered.

Dad walked over to pick up Sam, and the beckoned for us all to follow. Brenda was grumbling still at the rear. Brianne on the other hand seemed to be very excited. She talked non-stop as we walked through the house and out the front door. Dad locked it with his wand and then we walked down to the road.

"Are a lot meeting us?" I asked.

"I think one other family," he replied. "The Keller family."

"What are we looking for exactly?" Tasha asked.

"Anything that would seem like rubbish," I answered. "Nothing that stands out otherwise muggles could get a hold of it. I don't think too many muggles come out here though. We're in the middle of no where."

"But they could always get stranded," mum said. "We get high traffic around here at times, especially in the summer. I think there must be an area for tourists around here."

"Can they see your house?" Tasha asked.

"No, not unless they know to look for it," I said. "It's all just country side to them."

"So like a Secret Keeper?" Nick's dad asked.

"Not quite, although at a time we were hidden by it," dad said. "I was Secret Keeper. No, it's just not visible but you don't have to have the Secret Keeper tell you where it is. You just need to know it's there. We mainly did it so muggles can't see us, but I left it up in case there were wizards we didn't want coming around to find us. We don't believe You-Know-Who will be gone forever. They wanted to recruit us last time, and they will likely try again. I'd rather they couldn't find us at home."

"Makes sense," Nick's father replied. "We're a bit secluded but I may need your advice if that time comes."

"We'll be more than happy to help," mum said. "Let's just hope that time is long off."

"We've been worried since Sirius Black left Hogwarts," Nick's mum said. "He's one of his biggest supporters. He could be trying to find him now. He couldn't get Harry, so he'll probably try to get You-Know-Who back."

I tuned out the rest of their conversation, but I did start to think about what they were talking about. Would Sirius Black look for You-Know-Who now? I sure hoped not. I didn't want to grow up in that world. Mum had been pregnant with me when he'd gone. We'd had a great childhood and I wanted for Benny to grow up normally. However, odd things had started to happen since Harry Potter returned to the wizarding world.

"You sure are quiet," Nick said to me after we'd walk a bit.

"Just tired," I said. "I think I will go back to sleep a bit when we get there."

"Me too, although usually once I am up, I am up. Won't hurt to have a little lay in though," he said. "I just hope the little ones sleep. Don't think I can take the whining."

"Probably already are," I said as I glanced over at Benny who had his head rested against Nick's fathers shoulder. "It will be my sister we have to worry about," I added in a lower voice meaning Brenda.

"Likely yeah," Nick muttered.

Dad led us from the road and into the field where the grass was long and wet. I was glad I'd decided on pants but my feet already felt soaked. Brenda, who had chosen a dress began to complain.

"Not much further," mum called back to her. "But I told you to wear proper clothes."

It was really dark so I didn't know how dad expected to find anything, and he didn't have his wand out to light the field. However, as we moved I could see dark figures and realized it must have been the family we were meeting. They were hanging onto round thing with thin sticks in the middle and something rubber on the outside.

Once we got closer to them, I noticed two adults and two girls about Briannes age. The man smiled at us.

"Got it here," he said. "Old bike tyre it seems."

"You sure?" Dad asked and the man nodded.

"Couldn't find anything else," he answered. "Are there any other families coming?"

"Don't think so," dad said. "I believe we're the only ones around here. Did you have a long walk?"

"Yes about three kilometers," he said. "You?"

"About a kilometer," dad replied.

"You're Richard Hoofer," the man said once we were close enough. "Are these all your children? I'd heard you had a big family now. Giving the Weasley's a run for their money?"

Dad laughed. "I'm used to hearing that, but no just four of them are mine, this here is my nephew," he said meaning Sam. "My wife Barb, my youngest Benny is over there with Ted Lawrence and his wife Rebecca, my two girls are Brianne and Brenda and this here is my oldest, Barry," he put a hand on my shoulder. "The rest are just friends of the children. Tasha, Nick and Kendra."

"This is my son," Nick's father told him as he patted Nick's head with his free hand.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Dad asked him.

"I was a year above you in Ravenclaw," the man replied. "Fredrick Keller. This is my wife Nancy and my daughters Isabella and Harriet."

"Oh right, I do remember now," dad said. "I thought the name sounded familiar but I thought it was because it was a common one. You put me in detention in my fourth year."

"You in detention?" I asked dad with amusement. "For what?"

"Being out after hours, but I was coming back from the library," dad said.

"Hmm, I'll remember that one then," I said. "I guess it's okay if you're coming back from the library."

"Well, I'm sure they won't see it same way just as Fredrick here didn't," dad said smiling down at me before he turned back to Fredrick. "How much time do we have?"

Brianne who wasn't a shy girl was already talking eagerly to the girls. They were about the same height as her, so they must have been her age.

"About two minutes I think," he said.

"Alright you lot," dad said turning to us. "We just need for you to put a finger on it. So crowd around please. Benny and Sam should be fine since we're holding them, but the rest of you just touch it."

"What are these things?" Nick asked as he put a finger on one of the metal sticks.

"Spindles," Tasha said. "It's an old bicycle tyre. Muggles use them to get places. They basically help the bike move. Usually there is a chain. You took Muggle Studies for next year though. You might learn about them. They're actually a lot of fun. They're as popular with muggle kids like brooms are for us."

"Starting third year then?" Mr. Keller asked. "My oldest Isabella is starting her first year and next year Harriet will be starting."

"Oh I hope you're in Ravenclaw too," Brianne said excitedly as she took a spot between the girls. "I start next year too and my whole family is Ravenclaw. I should be too."

"We'll need to keep in touch," Harriet said. "We can be friends before we get there. It's so hard waiting a whole year!"

"Hurry," mum said. "Brenda, get a finger on the tyre. Everyone needs to touch it. It's going to go very soon. Come on Kendra beside me. We can continue to talk once we are there."

Everyone went quiet and then the tyre went blue before I felt a jerk at my naval. The next I knew, we were spinning in a blur of colours. Our feet hit the ground moments later and I fell down. I wasn't the only one. Most of us kids had fallen. Tasha was the only one standing besides our parents.

"That was fun!" Benny said lifting his head. "Let's do it again!"

"Later," dad told him and he handed the tyre to a wizard who had called out the time.

"Morning Mr. Hoofer," he said. "Mrs. Keller."

"Morning Basil," dad said. "Busy morning?"

"Yes it has been. Seems to be all the big families coming at the moment. Just had the Weasley's not too long ago and then a big party from the Black Forest. We'll be getting a party of twenty in the next one. Better get a move on," he said. "You're camp manager is Mr. Roberts Lawrence and Hoofer… Keller, you are Mr. Letson."

"Yes, yes, we need to find our site," dad said.

We walked a little ways before he turned to the Mr. And Mrs. Keller.

"Well, it was nice meeting you lot," he said. "It seems our daughters are the same age. We really should keep in touch so they can get to know each other."

"Can't we meet up later with them?" Harriet asked her father. "Please?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged," dad said to Mr. Keller. "You'll find us with the signs for Hoofer and Lawrence, but we could always meet up with you later. The kids are going to sleep after we set up."

"We'll be around later," Mrs. Keller said. "I'd love for our children to get to know each other. Why not around noon?"

"Yes, that will work. We will have a big lunch going, so if you'd like to eat with us just come on over," mum told her. "Well, let's go everyone. I know everyone would like to get some sleep."

"I'm so glad there are people my age!" Brianne said excitedly when we began to walk again. "I hadn't expected that and they're both friendly. You'll look for Isabella won't you?"

Dad stopped to pay the man who I assumed was Mr. Roberts before we continued on.

"We'll try, especially if she's in Ravenclaw," I said. "I'm glad you've found a friend before Hogwarts though. You're lucky. It doesn't happen often."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Brenda said. "They might not like her. Once they get to know her they might realize how annoying she really is. Don't get your hopes up, Brianne."

"Brenda, just shut up!" I said angrily. "Unlike you, Brianne is actually like-able! Stop being so rude to them all the time. I am so fed up with you. I've said it to you before; have you not noticed that no one likes you in your year? The problem is you, not them."

"Mum, Barry is being rude to me," Brenda complained.

"Brenda, I will apparate you home and stay with you," mum told her. "And you know what will happen if I have to do that!"

"You said you won't anymore!" Brenda whined.

"I will if you don't stop with this attitude, and if I have to, I might just keep you home and hire a tutor. I can't take the way you treat us or your siblings anymore," mum said. "I wasn't going to say anything to you until tomorrow, especially around everyone but I suppose now is a good of a time as any. Now knock it off!"

"Why am I being yelled at but not Barry?" She whined.

"Because Barry is sticking up for Brianne," mum told her. "What you just said was uncalled for and I don't want to hear you say that again. He also happens to speak the truth. Now knock it off!"

I could hear Brenda sniffling while Kendra muttered something to her. What did she see in my sister? It sounded as if she was trying to reassure her. She must have been very loyal just to stick by her. My belief was that Brenda was just jealous. It was the only thing that made sense. She had to know that Brianne would be one of those people who have friends almost instantly. But then again, wasn't her and Kendra's friendship almost instant too? They'd met in the Robes shop after all.

We passed several tents before we found our lots. Just as dad said, our stuff was already sitting there. A couple bulky bags sat in our lot while one sat in Nick's lot. Wasn't dad worried they'd be stolen? They were right in the open. Anyone could have just taken it. Nick was thinking the same thing because he mentioned this while he walked with his parents to their lot.

"No one can see it," dad said. "Or they couldn't. It didn't appear until we showed up. We thought of it all," and he set Sam down on his feet.

"You don't think anyone will notice if we use magic do you?" Nick's dad asked as he put Benny down.

"Not like others haven't," dad said with a shrug. "Strictly speaking we shouldn't, but it's still quite early and I'd bet most of my vault that most of these people have. In fact, look at that tent over there."

And he pointed to a tent that had many turrets on it. In fact, looking around, you could see many tents that were clearly magical. Setting up our tents with magic wasn't anything compared to what these people had on theirs. Dad pulled our tent out of one of the bags, and then pointed his wand at it and said: "Erecto!"

The tent unfolded itself and all the pegs went into the ground while the cords tied themselves into the pegs. It took only about a minute before the tent was fully erect. Nick's dad had the done same.

"But how do we all fit?" Tasha asked as she stared at it.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"There won't be enough room for all of us," she said.

"Go inside dear," Nick's mother told her. "You'll see for yourself how it works. I had muggleborn friends growing up. I understand your confusion. They look small but they really aren't."

Tasha duck inside and I heard her gasp. I still wondered what the confusion was all about. Of course they looked small from the outside! Our tent had an upstairs though you couldn't tell like the one with the turrets. That was for mum and dad while we slept downstairs in bunk beds. It had two separate rooms for the girls and boys.

"It's like a house!" Tasha said as she turned.

"I guess you can put it that way," I said with amusement.

"I'll have to show you a muggle tent sometime," she told me. "You'll understand why I am shocked. This has a kitchen and a living-room, bedrooms, an upstairs and wow, even a bathroom!"

"What do muggle tents look like then?" Nick asked as he joined us.

"Well it's hard to explain," she answered. "The inside certainly isn't bigger than the outside. You usually just sleep in sleeping bags on the ground. There aren't kitchens or bathrooms. I mean, can you actually cook on that stove?"

"Of course you can," I said with amusement.

"You just wait," Tasha said and then she turned to Nick. "Ask the Muggle Studies teacher for pictures of a tent. You'll see and then I can show Barry."

"Nick," Nick's mum said as she entered the tent. "Would you like to sleep in here or our tent?"

"I'll just try to sleep in here for now," Nick said. "That is if there are enough beds."

"There will be," I told him. "There are three bunks to each room. I guess mum and dad figured at some point we'd want friends to come camping or something. We loved it because we always got our own bunks when we were younger."

"Okay, we'll be up," Nick's mum told him. "Do try to sleep dear. It will be a long day if you don't."

The other kids joined us except for Brenda. Kendra, Brianne and Tasha went into the girls room while we went for the boys. Sam and Benny followed at a slower pace.

"I get top bunk cause I am older," he told Sam and then he started to climb the ladder to one of the bunks. Sam just shrugged and then went into the lower bed.

I climbed into the bunk beside theirs and then Nick went into the last one. The kids didn't even seem to care that we took our own bunks. In fact, by the looks of it, the boys fell asleep as soon as they laid down. It was almost the same for me too. I laid down in my bed and got comfortable. I began day dreaming about the match and then fell into a dream about it, except I was actually playing instead. I was the youngest Chaser ever.

"Barry! Barry! Barry!" The crowd shouted.

In fact, they began shaking me off my broom while they yelled. I tried to fly off, but I couldn't.

"Stop it," I said.

"No, your mum said it's time to get up," Nick said.

I opened my eyes. I was back in the tent again. I was disappointed. It had been a very good dream. Looking towards one of the tents windows, I could see that it was bright out. It was likely mid-morning then.

"How long did we sleep for?" I asked as I sat up.

"Almost four and a half hours," Nick answered. "I only got about an hour and a half maybe. Too loud out there. Don't know how the rest of you slept. The girls are just waking up too."

"Benny and Sam?" I asked as I looked around. They were gone.

"Woke about a half hour ago," he said. "You're the last one so your mum said to get you. Brenda is all grumpy of course. Complaining she is tired."

I rolled my eyes and then started to climb down. Of course she was complaining about that. I hoped mum and dad would let us wander around. I didn't know how much of her whining I could take. I followed Nick outside were many lawn chairs were set up. We walked over to the ones where Tasha and Brianne were sitting.

"Morning sleepy head," Tasha said to me. "You must have been really tired."

"I was. More than I realized," I said as I sat beside her. "But you must have been too."

"No, I've been awake a while. I just laid there until Kendra and Brianne woke up," she answered. "It's after eleven."

"At least we won't be tired tonight," Nick said.

"Even you?" I asked.

"I feel refreshed," he said. "I think I slept deeply even in that short time."

"My new friends should be here soon," Brianne said excitedly. "I hope we can play all day."

"You should be able to," I told her. "I do hope you get along but I think you will. They seem really nice."

"I hope they make food soon," Brianne said. "I am really hungry."

"Us too," Benny said as he joined us. "Can you hear how loud my stomach is? I should eat soon. It's getting angry."

"You sound stupid," Brenda said. "Your stomach doesn't get angry."

"Brenda, do you really want mum to take you home and do you know what?" I asked her. "I won't tell her you just said that but you need to stop."

"But it does sound dumb Barry," she said.

"He's seven!" I retorted. "You said dumb things his age too you know. Don't say anymore rude things to either of them, or us for that matter."

"Why are you so mean?" Sam asked her. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry," she said.

"You act like it," Sam said."You used to be nice but now you're mean and angry. I don't like you anymore."

"Good!" She said. "I'll be right back," she said to Kendra. "I'm going to see if mum and dad are going to start making lunch soon. I don't think I can handle the whining."

"Cause it's us doing the most whining," Benny said and he rolled his eyes. I snorted and then beckoned Kendra to me.

"I'm not trying to turn you against my sister, but how do you stand all that? I just don't get it. You're the one who has stood by her the most," I said.

"Because I know what she's like when she lets her guard down," Kendra said. "She's never like this with me. At times I think she thinks she's impressing people when she isn't. She's very insecure. That sweet girl you mention? It's still there, but I think you lot and the people in our year make her self-conscious and she acts like that. Besides, we promised our first day we'd stick to each other no matter what. I'm loyal to her no matter what."

"You'd think you're a Hufflepuff then," Benny said.

"Well, the hat did almost put me in Hufflepuff but it decided Ravenclaw in the end," she told him with a grin.

"Well, I don't like her," Sam said. "She is mean to me whenever I come over. How am I supposed to know certain things? I've only been around six years!"

"If she wasn't my sister, I wouldn't talk to her," I said. "Maybe she'll outgrow this then. If she is nice around you, Kendra, there is hope."

"I wish she would show her true side more," Kendra said with a sigh. "She's amazing when she is herself. I think the well, the bitchy side is like a defense mechanism or something. It's like a wall she puts around herself. She doesn't let just anyone in. I just wonder, did something happen to make her have trust issues? She's never said but that's obviously what it is."

"None that I know of," I said. "I mean, anything could have happened though. A lot of the time it comes from her wanting her own room. Maybe she feels she was betrayed from that?"

"Maybe, I know she's upset about that still but I think it could be more than that too," Kendra answered. "I'll keep trying to find out. It's odd I have to tell her own family that she's actually sweet. I'm determined to help her let her guard down someday."

Brenda appeared at the mouth of the tent at that moment so we couldn't say much more. She walked back over to us.

"Mum said she's starting now," Brenda said. "Want to go explore a bit?" She asked Kendra. "Mum said we could, but not to go far."

"Sure," Kendra said. "Talk to you later," she said to us before hurrying to Brenda.

"She's too nice to be Brenda's friend," Brianne said.

"As long as she has someone," I said. "And look, there are your friends now."

The Kellers were a few tents away walking over to us. The girls were yelling out excitedly at some of the tents. I was guessing they had followed the rules too. There were more tents set up since we'd arrived. I knew there would be Ministry workers going around to make sure they weren't too magical. I was sure they hadn't come to our section yet. There was a family that had a fire that was turning different colours.

Brianne jumped up and ran over to greet them. The girls rushed over to her yelling excitedly. I grinned at them. I believed she'd found some friendships like mine. They would be long lasting, even if they weren't in the same House.

At dusk, salesmen were appearing everywhere. That must have meant that the game would be starting very soon. Mum and dad got omnioculars for all of us. We also bought some Irish flags to wave around. Earlier, Nick's mother had painted all of our faces with shamrocks or leprechauns, or both. She was an artist it appeared. Benny and Sam had 'Ireland' written on their foreheads. Brenda had even given in. She had a shamrock on her left cheek.

There was a loud gong toward the wooded area which meant it was time.

"Kids, we need to stick together," mum said as Brianne, Sam, and Benny tried to rush forward. "Please, Benny, Sam, and Brianne stay with Nick, Tasha and Barry. You three, please watch them."

"We will," I said as I took a hold of Benny's hand.

The Keller's had left about an hour ago. They'd promised to keep in contact since Brianne got along so well with both girls. They even planned to bring Harriet around at times for them to play together. They got along well with my parents too.

We followed the crowd to a lit up path in the woods. Around us people were shouting excitedly. I wanted to run ahead but I didn't. I just kept close to Benny while Nick held Sam's hand and Tasha and Brianne talked behind us. Kendra and Brenda were with our parents. After a while, we came to what looked like a pure gold wall.

"Wow," I said.

Dad took the lead and took us inside. We climbed some stairs. He led us up a couple flights before we went through a doorway. Dad kept checking the tickets he had until he led us over to our seats.

"Okay," he said as he stopped. "You two will sit between us," he said to Kendra and Brenda and he waved his hand to him and mum to Nick's parents. "The rest of you lot can take seats right at the end of the row."

"Why can't we go with them?" Brenda asked.

"Because you're just going to fight with your siblings," dad said. "I can't trust you. I want to enjoy the game, not put out fires."

Brenda folded her arms and pouted. The rest of us moved on down the row.

"Us three will sit together," I said. "Brianne, you can sit beside Tasha and then Benny can sit beside you, and Sam beside Benny."

We all sat down and looked down into the pitch. Dad had gotten us good seats. Our seats weren't that much lower than the top box which was directly across from us. I figured the most important people would be sitting there. Once I sat down, I put my omnioculars to my eyes and looked up at it.

"Hey, Potter is in the top box!" I said.

"Where?" Benny shouted and he too looked through his omnioculars. "Oh I see him! But he looks like a normal person."

"Well what did you think he'd look like?" I asked as I began looking through the crowd at the rest of the audience. I wanted to see if I could spot my other school mates.

"I dunno but not normal," Benny replied.

"He always gets everything!" Nick said. "Even the top box. The Weasley's are there too. How did they afford tickets up there?"

"Maybe Harry bought them for them?" Tasha suggested.

"Doubtful," I said. "The Weasley's are proud. Maybe they won them. They won that prize money to Egypt last year, remember? We can ask Ginny back at school. Wish the game would start now."

Just as I said this, a loud magnified voice suddenly said:

"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

We all began cheering with the crowd around us. I believed dad had said that were were a hundred thousand people in the stadium. A board which had been showing advertisements changed to BULGARIA: ZERO, IRELAND: ZERO.

"And now without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"

On our left hand side, a crowd which all wore scarlet erupted into cheers. As they cheered about a hundred beautiful women walked onto the pitch. I'd never seen women so beautiful in my life and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Something was off about them though, but I didn't know what. They had long blond hair and pale white faces.

Music started, and they started to dance. I wondered what I could do to impress them. I felt I needed to do something! Perhaps I should go down there and dance with them. I got up and began making my way down the aisle.

"Barry, where are you going?" I heard Benny's voice but distantly it seemed.

"Barry!" Tasha called. "Nick!"

The music stopped and I looked around. Benny and Sam were staring at me with their mouths open.

"Go on and sit down son," dad said to me. "Next time they come out, plug your ears boys."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You fell for the Veela's charms," Nick's father answered. "It's okay. You weren't expecting it. When they were dancing, you felt you had to impress them, right?"

"Right," Nick said. "I felt I needed to go see them."

"Me too," I said. "I needed to dance with them."

Tasha and Brianne began to giggle.

"Go sit down boys," mum said even her and Nick's mum were laughing.

I felt embarrassed as I made my way back to my seat. Nick's face was red as well, but I realized that people were shouting angrily. Around us, other men had fallen for their charm too. I'd heard of Veela but I didn't know too much about them. I'd have to look them up later on. At least I'd be prepared next time.

"And now," the magnified voice began again. "kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Suddenly a green and gold comet flew through around the pitch and then broke into two comets towards the gold posts. A rainbow appeared connecting two balls of light. Everyone was yelling out impressed shouts as fireworks appeared. Benny and Sam stood up to watch with their mouths wide open. The rainbow disappeared and the balls of lights connected and then formed a glittering shamrock which rose up in the sky above the stands. It seemed to be raining gold now.

When it hit the stands, I realized that it was golden coins. Likely just leprechaun gold I assumed. They wouldn't just give away Galleons like that. Most of the crowd including my own siblings didn't realize this. People were diving for the gold.

"Look all this!" Benny shouted.

"It's leprechaun gold," I told him.

"So?" He asked.

"So, it will disappear," I said. "It doesn't last."

"It doesn't?" Tasha asked holding her own handful.

"Nope, but try and keep it if you want. They wouldn't just give away Galleons you know. Maybe Knuts but not Galleons."

"I'd forgotten about that," Nick said frowning as he dropped his coins.

When the leprechauns disappeared, they finally introduced the teams. The Bulgarians came out first. They did fly quite fast. I stood up and leaned against the railing to watch. The others did the same. They were like a blur. They introduced each member. When they got to Krum, the entire crowd screamed. Then the Irish appeared as well.

I put my omnioculars back to my face to watch. I was so glad dad had got the tickets. You could do replays with them as well, or slow it down. The Irish were the first to score. The leprechauns formed a giant shamrock while the Veela's looked put out.

This game put even the professionals ones I'd been to shame. It got more brutal as the game went on. When the Bulgarians scored their first goal, the Veela came back out to dance. I put my fingers in my ears that time and I saw Nick do the same thing. The game began again and it seemed that the Seekers had seen the Snitch. They were both flying really fast. I had my omnioculars pressed so close to my face it was starting to hurt.

Aidan Lynch, the Irish Seeker crashed. It turned out that Krum was faking him out. The crowd let out a loud groan.

There was a time out while they tended to Lynch. Krum was circling the pitch now meanwhile. I watched him go wondering if he'd just finished school or if he was still in it. When Lynch finally got to his feet again, the Irish supporters cheered.

The game got more brutal as it went on. Even the Mascots were getting into it. At one point, the referee was caught under the Veela's spell and he began flexing. If I'd been embarrassed, he certainly was. He actually tried to send them off the pitch which made the Bulgarian supporters angry. Two of the players flew down to yell at him. Ireland was given two more penalties.

Soon enough, the Irish were so far ahead that I didn't think it was possible for the Bulgarian's to ever catch up. The Seekers seemed to see the Snitch for real because they were diving once again. Lynch ended up crashing once again. He didn't seem to know how to control his broom. Maybe the Firebolt was too much for him.

"Who caught the Snitch?" Benny shouted jumping up down. "Where is the Snitch?"

"Krum got it!" Sam yelled.

He was right, Krum was holding up the Golden Snitch! It didn't matter though. The Irish had been so far ahead of them that they had won anyway. The score was Bulgaria: One hundred and sixty to Ireland with a hundred and seventy.

"Why would he catch the Snitch?" Nick asked. "He should have let them get ahead more."

"Maybe he just wanted to end it," I said. "Guess he didn't want Lynch getting it. He wanted to end the game on his terms."

"That was amazing either way," Nick said. "What a game!"

Later on, after we were done celebrating, we were just falling asleep when mum and dad made us get up again.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You all need to get up and go to the woods," mum said. "I want you to watch out for the kids."

"Why?" Nick asked as he too climbed out of bed. He'd chosen our tent again.

"There is a commotion," dad told him. "Do not lose sight of the little ones. We are going to take care of this! No time to change boys."

I grabbed a hold of Benny who was already up and waiting while Nick grabbed Sam. Brianne, Brenda, Tasha and Kendra were waiting in the living room.

"All of you need to stay together," dad told us. "No one wanders on their own. Straight to the woods."

All night there had been excited shouting but the shouting had turned to scared shouting. We rushed out of the tent and stared around outside. Far off in the distance there was a huge crowd of loaked people blowing tents away. Above them were three figures but from this distance it was hard to see who it was. They had them upside down.

"Go!" Dad shouted to us. "Straight to the woods!"

Tasha grabbed Brianne's hand while I took a hold of Kendra with my free hand and Nick grabbed Brenda's hand. We all rushed to the woods where a lot of the crowd was headed to. I knew I was gripping their hands very hard, and I was probably hurting them but I didn't care. I didn't want to let them go. As we moved past the tents, Kendra grabbed Brenda's free hand and Sam reached out for Tasha. I was relieved we were all holding hands as we moved closer.

"We need to go single file in the wood," I told them. "Do not let go of each other. We'll go as far as we can."

Benny was in the lead now, and he pulled my hand as he moved as fast as he could.

"I think we can stop now," I heard Tasha call out. "You can't see out there anymore."

"Let's all just sit down," Nick said.

"What were all those people in the cloaks?" Benny asked as we all sat down. He sat down in my lap. "That was scary and they had those people."

"I don't know," I said. "Guess people wanting to take things too far."

"You-Know-Who's people wore cloaks," Brenda said.

"But he can't be back," Brianne said. "Can he?"

"You don't think Sirius Black had anything to do with it do you?" Tasha asked.

"Maybe," Nick said.

Around us, we could hear others questioning the same thing. There were some older teens who seemed to be having fun though. How could they be having fun?

"You don't think anyone will die?" Sam asked.

"No, of course not," I said though I wasn't so sure myself. "What do you know about death anyway."

"Enough," Sam replied. "They had that family flying! They were making tents go on fire!"

"What if ours is on fire right now?" Benny asked.

"I'm sure it's not," Tasha told him. "They were really far away."

"Let's not worry too much," Nick said. "It's probably a bunch of nutters who got drunk and decided to pull that stunt. There's no point in scaring ourselves. Let's talk about- well, let's talk about the Tri-wizard Tournament!"

We tried discussing it, but everyone was worried. I didn't want to show my fear because of Brianne, Benny and Sam. I knew the others felt the same. Brenda was even talking about what she'd do with the prize money but I could see the worry in her eyes.

And then quite suddenly the woods lit up as a green skull with a snake protruding from it's mouth appeared above us. I didn't understand what it was, but it seemed to a bad thing because around us people started to scream. I stood Benny up and then jumped to my feet and the others did the same. I pulled my wand from my pocket. The others did who had one did the same. Underage wizards were allowed to use magic if their lives were threatened.

"I want mummy!" Benny said and he started to cry. I pulled him close.

"Should we try and find them?" Tasha asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But everyone seems to be leaving. Whatever that thing is, it's really bad and they all want to get away from it."

"Let's all take hands again then," Nick said. "No one let go. We have to stick together."

We all joined hands and followed the crowd back out. Once we reached the edge of the wood, we saw our parents on the sidelines looking around anxiously. Benny yelled out for mum and let go of my hand. He ran straight to her with the rest of us quickly following. Mum lifted Benny into her arms. When we all reached them, mum and dad pulled us into a group hug while Nick's parents sandwiched him.

"We're leaving now," mum said. "We're apparating home right now. Let's get back to the tents to gather everything up."

"Can we all go at once?" I asked.

"Yes, we'll each take two kids with us," mum said. "Brianne and Benny will come with me."

"Sam and Brenda with me," dad said.

"Nick and Barry with me," Nick's dad said.

"And Kendra and Tasha with me," Nick's mum added last.

At our lots, they took the tents down as quickly as they could, and then we went to the parent who was taking us home. Nick's dad gripped our hands hard as he turned on the spot. I felt relief as soon as our feet hit the ground. We were back in the living-room.

"What was that skull thing?" I asked. "Why did everyone panic?"

"Sit down," mum told us.

"We're going to take Nick home now," Nick's dad said. "We'll talk about it there. We'd rather just be in our home though."

"I'll see you on the train I guess," I said to Nick who nodded.

He didn't seem to mind leaving. He just took his dads hand again and with two loud pops they were gone. Benny and Brianne sat very close to my side while Sam sat on Brianne's other side. Brenda and Kendra sat on the love seat.

"It was You-Know-Who's sign," dad finally said.

"But he's not back?" I asked.

"I don't think so," mum said. "At least we hope not. It's just that when whoever shot that mark up, all of those people disappeared quickly. I think it scared them off."

"But weren't they You-Know-Who's supporters?" Brenda asked. "Wouldn't they be happy to see it or him?"

"A lot of them betrayed him when he was gone. They did whatever they could to stay out of Azkaban. So seeing that mark scared them off because he'll be angry," dad said.

"But why shoot that mark up?" I asked. "Why were people so scared? If it was just a joke or to maybe even scare those people off-"

"Barry, they only shot it up when someone killed someone. Everyone was scared because they were worried someone might have died. They would put it over someones house. Think about it. You go home after work and it's above your house-" dad shuddered at thought. "It was peoples worst nightmare."

"It brought back painful memories for some," mum added.

"But no one died did they?" Sam asked.

"We don't know honey. I don't believe so. I think it was a prank," mum said. "We won't know for a few days unfortunately. For now, I think all of you should go to bed. Maybe tomorrow we'll know more."

I knew it would be really hard to sleep though. It had been a fun night, and then it had turned very scary.


	15. Third Year Part Three

The first day of school was a very rainy day. As we made our way into the Great Hall, we had to dodge Peeves who was throwing water balloons at all the students coming inside. We had to run quickly inside, but I caught the back splash of one. I was already soaked as it is. I didn't want to get even more wet.

We hurried straight to the Ravenclaw table. Once I sat down, I pulled out my wand and began using the drying charm on myself. Tasha and Nick did the same. Around us, our fellow third years sat around us. They were all talking about the World Cup, so I assumed they must have all gone as well.

Luckily, no one had actually died that night. No one knew for sure who had actually shot up what I found out was the Dark Mark. Most believed it was either a prank or something to scare off what mum and dad called the Death Eaters. Apparently that was what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. No one who had caused the trouble had been identified though. There were rumours that dead bodies had been pulled from the woods, but dad had said not to take that seriously because it was Rita Skeeter. She was apparently some reporter who exaggerated things.

"When Lynch just crashed!" Philip said.

"Did you go Hoofer?" Darren asked.

"We went yes," I said. "We had amazing seats. Did you all go together?"

"Dad won tickets so I was able to invite as many as I wanted," Darren said. "I considered you lot as well, but I figured your rich parents would be taking you."

I stopped drying myself off. I was still a bit wet, but it wasn't as bad as it had been. I felt damp now.

"Yes they did," I said with a shrug before I looked to the girls. "Did you go?"

"Yes," Gretchen said. "We all went together too," and then she turned to Luna. "Did you go?"

"Yes, we went," Luna said happily. "It was quite amazing wasn't it? Lynch must have been distracted by nargles. He crashed quite a bit. He didn't play very well, did he?"

Everyone snorted at this. I figured she'd have come up with some funny reason for why he hadn't played so well.

"Well, he did play against Krum though," Ivan said. "I mean, he was amazing wasn't he?"

"Were you all there for afterwards?" Gretchen asked. "With that Dark Mark? Apparently a lot of people died that night!"

"Dad said that was just Rita Skeeter exaggerating and that no one actually died," I said. "She's been known to do that."

"I don't think so," Gretchen said. "My dad said he saw a dead body."

"No he didn't," Katrina said. "How could he?"

"Well he did!" Gretchen said. "There were many dead bodies."

"No there weren't," Philip said. "Hoofer is right. Have you ever read Rita Skeeter? She lies all the time. She'll write anything to make the articles more exciting."

"You're all wrong but whatever," Gretchen said with her arms folded.

Sometimes I felt like I was talking to my sister when it came to her. I just rolled my eyes and ignored her. Soon enough, the long line of first years entered the Great Hall. They looked absolutely drenched. It would have been awful to go across the lake in that rain. I was glad Brianne didn't have to deal with that. One tiny boy was wrapped in Hagrids coat.

The hat sang a long song that time. The last two years it had been short. When it finished, Professor McGonagall began calling out each student forward. I looked around for Isabella Keller, but I didn't see her. It wasn't until McGonagall reached:

"Keller, Isabella,"

The small blond girl stepped forward and climbed on the stool. The hat wasn't on her head for very long before it called out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

I clapped loudly for her. At least Brianne would have an older friend in Ravenclaw. Now I just wanted the sorting to be over. The treats from the trolley cart were never enough. My stomach was angry as Benny had put it. I was glad when it was finally over and the golden plates filled with food.

The talk went back to the World Cup, but not afterwards. Gretchen seemed angry still, so she didn't say anything while we all talked around her. Luna continued her input when it came to nargles and the players. As odd as they found her, I think they loved hearing her stories too because the boys asked her more about the nargles.

"Anyone else get hit by the Veela charm?" Nick asked.

Darren started to laugh. "These two tried to jump off the stands."

"And you weren't dancing around and showing off?" Ivan asked.

"Better than trying to jump off the stands," he retorted still laughing.

"We tried walking down there," I said. "I wanted to try and dance with them."

"Typical males," Gretchen said as she rolled her eyes. "Loses their minds when pretty girls show up."

"Those aren't real girls," Tasha said. "And they were hit by their charms. If they were male, you'd react the same way. Didn't you see them turn into bird like creatures? Real humans can't do that! Not unless they're metamorphmagus's or their advanced with Transfiguration."

"They threw fire too," Luna said.

"Really? And I'm sure you have some mad reasoning for why they did it!" Gretchen said to her.

"They do it because they're Veela," Luna said.

"I'm surprised that is all you have to say!" She said angrily.

"What is with you?" Kevin asked her. "You're being bitchier than usual."

"It's only Luna," she responded.

"And you don't need to be like that to her," I said. "There is no reason for it. You're just angry because everyone called you out."

"Exactly," Tasha said. "And don't say it's acceptable to be rude to Luna either. She's never been anything but nice to you!"

"Well, we all know she comes with mad ideas," Gretchen said.

"Just like we all know you're a bitter bitch," Ivan said. "Knock it off already. You drive me mad. I'd rather listen to Luna's barmy stories than you. It's our first night back and you've already annoyed me."

"She'd get along with Brenda," Nick muttered to me.

"I think they'd clash," I muttered back. "They'd kill each other."

"Yeah you're probably right," Nick said.

Thankfully, Gretchen didn't talk for the rest of dinner. When the feast was over, Dumbledore stood up to give the usual announcements. He did mention that Quidditch wouldn't be taking place that year, but it didn't really surprise me. I wondered how many people actually knew about the Tournament considering how more than half the people were protesting it.

Dumbledore went on to explain why, but he was interrupted when the Great Hall doors were thrown open. Everyone stared at a strange looking man entered. I'd heard of him before, but I had never seen him in person. His name was Mad-Eye Moody and now seeing him, I understood why. He had one normal eye, and one eye that was huge and moving around. As he moved up, I noticed it moving to the back of his head. His face was very heavily scarred and he was stumping along because he had a wooden leg.

"Who is that?" Tasha whispered. "What happened to him."

"Mad-Eye Moody," I whispered back. "Ex-Auror. Used to catch dark wizards. Looks like they took a lot of him with them."

No one else spoke. He continued on until he reached the high table where he talked to Dumbledore, and then he walked over to take an empty seat at the teachers table. Dumbledore introduced him as Mad-Eye Moody our Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. No one clapped. They all stared in shock at him as he sat and began sniffing his food before he ate it. He didn't even seem to notice that no one was clapping.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore began and then he announced the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Over from the Gryffindor table, one of the Weasley twins shouted:

"You're joking!"

The tension from Mad-Eye's appearance broke as everyone started to laugh, even Dumbledore. He even responded to the boy's comment and started to tell a joke until McGonagall cleared her throat. I was disappointed. He started to tell everyone about the Tri-Wizard Tournament history instead. I glanced around the Great Hall while he did this. It seemed many people hadn't known about it. It explained the Dress Robes though. They likely had something to do with Tournament. Maybe there would be a party or something.

I didn't pay much attention until he got to the part that in order to participate, we'd need to be above age. Many people, including me started to shout at this. It seemed I was always going to be too young. I'd thought being in third year would change that, but it didn't matter for this.

When the announcements were over, we all stood up, all still complaining.

"Maybe the tasks require advanced magic," Tasha said. "It would have been so much to do it though."

"Well, there must be a way to sneak in," Nick said. "Once you're chosen, you're in. What do you say? We should try putting our names in anyway."

"I think we should," I said. "We have a couple months to work out how to do it."

"Oh I don't think we should. We could be in so much trouble," Tasha said.

"What can they do?" Nick asked. "If you're chosen, it's not as if they can expel you."

"No, but you could be in detentions anyway. Maybe they'll take away a lot of points," Tasha said and she looked at me. "It could take your chances of being a prefect away."

"Maybe," I said.

"Oh come on," Nick said to me. "Don't be goody-goody. We need to try Barry."

"I really would like to be in it," I said. "Being school champion and winning all that money? If one of us gets in, we'll spit."

"I knew I could count on you mate," Nick said with a grin.

"Well, just don't say I didn't warn you," Tasha said.

"You'll be there to tell us: 'I told you so,'" I told her as I nudged her in the arm.

She grinned and shrugged. I was sure we weren't the only ones thinking of this. Plenty of people were angry about it. They would all be thinking of ways to enter. I wondered how we were supposed to enter anyway.

Our first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was glad we'd be able to find out how Moody was as a teacher. Surely he would teach us properly though. He was an ex-Auror after all. He wouldn't be a fraud like Lockhart had been. Lupin had been a great a teacher, but Mad-Eye had to be even better. Tasha and Nick agreed, so the three of us took seats close to the front.

Mad-Eye took the attendance and then looked around the room with his magical eye. I wondered if it could see through things too. It had gone into the back of his head the night before, and I believed it could see through the back of his head. I could tell by the cringing of my fellow students when it looked at them that it made them uncomfortable. I didn't like it too much either as it landed on me.

After he took the attendance, he began by telling us that Lupin had sent a letter to him about what we'd covered the year before.

"You may know some minor hexes and jinxes," he continued. "But that is just kids stuff. That will not help you in a real battle. You are still very behind-"

I couldn't help but think that of course it was just kid stuff. We were third years. Weren't we supposed to learn more and more the older we got? Wasn't that the whole point to learning these hexes and jinxes? The only people I'd be fighting were likely fellow third years who were at my level. When would I ever take on a grown up wizard? I wouldn't until I was that age, and by that point I'd know most of it.

I raised my hand as he talked and he focused on me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful sir," I began. "But don't we only know kids stuff because we are kids? Aren't we supposed to learn spells at our level? Not that I'm complaining if you're teaching us more of course, but you can hardly blame Lupin for teaching us what you consider 'kid's' stuff."

I felt uncomfortable as his magic eye stared at me. Had I said the wrong thing? Was he going to get angry with me? I'd heard stories about him in the past. He'd attacked innocent wizards just for looking at him the wrong way. He was paranoid about a lot of people after spending a life of fighting dark wizards. His strange eye wasn't the only reason he was called: "Mad-Eye," it was because he was also mad.

It was hard to know what he was thinking. But then he suddenly smiled at me stretching out his scarred face. It almost looked more grotesque. I didn't fancy becoming an Auror if that was what happened to you. He hardly looked human. He glanced down at his attendance list and then at me again.

"You're Richard Hoofer's boy?" He asked and I nodded. "I always liked your father. Helped me out a fair few times. Of course I don't blame Lupin for teaching you basic hexes and spells. However, I believe you should always be prepared, whether you are a first year, a third year, or a seventh year. I am here to teach you to always be aware because your opponent may not always just know innocent hexes and jinxes. Even if they are the same age as you, or someone my own age. Some parents do teach their children spells beyond their age level. So while you may end up with a duel with a first year, you might think you have an advantage with two years of magical learning behind you; you may not. I am not here to teach you dark spells beyond your age, I am here to teach you recognize it. CONSTANT VILIGANCE!" He suddenly shouted causing everyone to jump.

Ivan put his hand up in the air once we'd all recovered.

"But sir, what do you plan on teaching us then? Professor Lupin was teaching us basic duelling when we weren't learning about Dark Creatures. Are we still going to learn about duels?" He asked.

"In due time," Professor Moody replied. "What I am going to show you today are curses you are to never us on another human being."

"So why teach us then?" Gretchen asked as she put her hand up.

"As I said earlier, so you are aware of them. So you know what to expect. So you know how to fight them off. The three curses I am going to show you today are the three Unforgivable Curses," and with that he turned to desk and then turned back with three jars containing three spiders. He set the jars on the desk that Gretchen and Katrina were sitting at. "So who can tell me the name of the three Unforgivable's?"

The two girls pushed their chairs away from their desk. They both stared at the spiders with disgust.

Nick's arm shot up quickly and I looked over at him with surprise.

"Yes?" Professor Moody asked him.

"I don't know the name of it, but my mum told me about the torture curse," he answered. "I think it started with a C."

"Last name is Lawrence?" Moody asked as he glanced at the register again and Nick nodded. "You mother is Rebecca," and Nick gave another nod looking a little nervous now. "Yes, she would know about that curse. It's called the Cruciatus Curse. The incantation is Crucio."

He reached into one of the jars and pulled out a spider. Was he going to use it on the spiders? Normally I didn't care much about insects, but it seemed wrong to torture them. It was better than a human being, but it still didn't feel right to me. We used animals or bugs in classes, but the teachers had told us that it never hurt them. I imagined that Moody's intent was to hurt the spiders.

He made it twice the size it was causing all the girls, even Tasha to let out tiny screams revulsion.

"It needs to be bigger for you to get the idea," he said.

"Oh don't hurt it!" Tasha said even though she didn't like spiders.

I wasn't sure if he hadn't heard her or if he just ignored her. He pointed his wand at the enlarged spider and said:

"Crucio!"

The spider that had been scurrying around at first froze and then started to shudder as if in pain. I was sure it would be screaming if it could. Everyone stared at it in horror. I thought it looked as if he were enjoying it.

"Oh stop!" Tasha said. "We get it, please stop!"

Moody lifted the curse. I wasn't sure if it was because of her or because he'd felt we'd see enough. Either way, he stopped and then reduced it back to it's original size. He put it back into the jar and then looked around at us again with his crazy eye.

"The torture curse! You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you know the Cruciatus Curse. This curse was popular back when You-Know-Who was at large. Often it was used to get information from someone. Usually a person would be willing to tell a Death Eater or You-Know-Who anything after being tortured. That's one of the curses, now can anyone tell me another?"

I was surprised when Luna Lovegood put her hand up. She came out with strange things all the time, but she always appeared to be someone who was pure. I couldn't imagine her knowing or doing anything awful to someone. Perhaps her father had told her some mad curse that didn't exist.

"There's the Imperius Curse," she said when Moody called on her. "My dad told me about it."

"Lovegood?" He asked her and she gave a small nod but Moody didn't ask anymore. "Yes, the Imperius Curse gave the Ministry trouble back when You-Know-Who was at large. Back then, you didn't know who you could trust or who was under the Imperius curse. It's a curse that takes complete control of someone to do a person's bidding."

He took the next spider out but he didn't enlarge this one. He just said: "Imperio!" The spider suddenly started dancing around and making funny webs. He made it crawl on Gretchen's face who screamed. The class was full of laughter. After having to watch the torture curse, this had relieved the tension. However, Mad-Eye looked around the classroom sternly and said:

"You think that's funny? How would you like it if I did it to you?" Which caused everyone to stop laughing.

"I could make this spider do whatever I want it to. I have complete control of it. I could do it to you, and you'd have to do whatever I want and there isn't a thing you could do about it," he told us.

"Now there is one more Unforgivable. Can anyone tell me what it is?"

Philip raised his hand this time.

"My parents told me about Avada Kedavra," he said.

I didn't know for sure, but I thought that might have been the killing curse. Why would his parents tell him about that one?

Moody again questioned about his parentage. I was beginning to wonder if he knew everyone's parents. How did he know all of our parents?

"Yes, the killing curse," he said. "This is the worst and last one."

I wasn't so sure about that one. Sure it killed you, but I'd think being tortured was worse than death. As he pulled out the last spider, I was sure that one who had been tortured would take death over what it had been through. It wasn't moving very much in it's jar. I'd never thought I'd feel sorry for a bug, but I couldn't help it.

He put the spider on the desk, pointed his wand at the last spider and said:

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a flash of green light and a rushing sound and the spider was dead just like that. Gretchen and Katrina both screamed while everyone else jumped back.

"Not a very nice spell as you can see, and there is no blocking it. There's no counter curse. There's only one known person to have ever survived it, and no one to this day knows how he did. I'm sure you've all heard of him since he goes to this school. His name is Harry Potter. It was the curse that was You-Know-Who's downfall, and I suggest none of you try to talk to him about it either," Moody said.

He pointed his wand to the black board and the three curses showed up.

"Now, since there is no way to block it, why am I showing you? Because you need to know. CONSTANT VILIGANCE! These three spells will put you in Azkaban for using them on another human being. You are not to ever use them. I am showing them not to teach you how to use them, but so you are all aware. So you all know what you are up against. The Ministry wouldn't be happy knowing I showed them to you, but Dumbledore wants you all prepared. So, copy down these three spells. We will be learning about them over our next few lessons."

"I think I know enough," Tasha said shuddering as he left. "Oh why did he have to hurt the spiders?"

"Better them than us," Nick said. "But that Avada Kedavra was amazing wasn't it? The spider just snuffed it right there and then."

"You don't think it's true that parents might teach their kids bad spells do you?" Tasha asked.

"Well think of Draco Malfoy," I said. "I bet his father taught him things. But the way he talks you'd think we're about to be attacked. I get preparing us but it's not as if someone is going to Avada Kedavra me right now."

"Maybe he knows more than he lets on," Nick said. "I mean,Sirius Black escaped last year, all that World Cup business and now Moody is teaching us. I mean, Dumbledore probably has him here for a reason don't you think? The Ministry doesn't often tell us things. Maybe he's here to protect us because they know something is going on. It might be best for us to be prepared."

"Maybe," Tasha said. "Or he's just mad as everyone says."

"Nick might be right," I said. "Think of all the things that have been happening lately. Wonder why Harry Potter survived that curse? I always thought something else happened that night."

"Do you think he remembers it?" Nick asked.

"Well don't be asking him," Tasha said.

"Wasn't planning to," Nick said. "But I am curious. Well, we'd better get going. McGonagall hates when people are late."

Moody was cool. Maybe shouldn't have done it, but later on the first day, he turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret and bounced him around the Entrance Hall. It was amazing. McGonagall had put a stop to it unfortunately. It was something I would remember for a long time though. It was the topic of discussion that night at dinner, along with his lesson. Lupin had definitely been a great teacher but he was no where near as incredible as Mad-Eye.

"I just wish he didn't have to torture innocent creatures to get his point across," Tasha said.

"But he can't do it on people," Nick said.

"No, but he doesn't have to demonstrate it does he? He could use pictures or something," she said.

"You never complain when we use animals in other classes," he said.

"Because it doesn't hurt them," I said. "I agree with Tasha. "I like Moody, but I felt sorry for that spider too and usually I don't care about insects. I don't believe in torturing innocent creatures either."

"He probably won't always do it," Nick said. "I can't wait for Hagrid's class tomorrow. I wonder if we'll see Hippogriff's too."

I couldn't wait for the new classes either. We would have most our new classes the next day. I had Divination first thing. Even if a lot of people found it rubbish, I was very curious about it. I couldn't wait for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes either. Nick was still regretting taking it, but I kept reminding him that he had to take a hard class to make up for his easy ones.

Tasha and Nick still thought it was silly for me to take it, but I thought it was silly for Nick to take Muggle Studies. He had no interest in working with Muggles. Perhaps Divination would even open doors for me. A lot of people who worked in the Department of Mysteries had taken it. So I stood by my choice.

The following day in class, I still felt the same way. We were doing tea leaves and after we drank tea, we had to decipher shapes in the clump of leaves. I was paired up with Luna Lovegood who seemed to have a knack at it. I had trouble with it, but she seemed able to read my cup with no problem. Even Trelawney agreed with her. Apparently I was going to face a major disappointment in the coming months.

Though the class did end on a bitter note when she predicted Gretchen's death. Apparently it was going to be a very long and painful death.

Arithmancy was just as complicated as I thought it would be, but I loved the challenge. Even Nick changed his mind by the end of class. I loved Ancient Runes as well. All in all, I felt that I'd made the right decision when it came to my three classes. Tasha thought it was ridiculous Trelawney had predicted Gretchen's death though.

"It was for scares," Nick told her when Gretchen talked about it nervously at dinner. "Seamus Finnegan told me she keeps doing it to Harry Potter. Apparently she picks one kid per year to do it too."

"Well why me?" Gretchen asked. "I get it with Harry Potter but I'm just some random nobody."

"Not everyone can be famous," I said. "But at least you know it isn't true. Guess she just wants to impress us with her skills like McGonagall does with her transformation."

"You can't compare the two," Tasha said. "McGonagall can actually turn into a cat and back. Trelawney is just doing it to impress people but I bet she is a fraud. I've heard she is and it's wrong to scare a student like that. I can't believe someone like you would be impressed by her."

"I don't think she should doing that. I just think it's her way of starting a class to impress them," I said. "But I did like the rest of her class. I'd like it if someone else taught it."

"If you say so," Tasha said. "But I agree with Benny. It's rubbish."

"What about Care of Magical Creatures?" Luna asked her. "Do you think those Skrewts are a good idea? Hagrid is a bit of a joke for a teacher."

"Hey!" Nick snapped angrily.

"Well she does have a point," Tasha said. "I like Hagrid, I do but come on, those things will kill us!"

"I think I might drop the class," Gretchen said. "Maybe Trelawney is right and one of the will kill me."

"What are Skrewts?" I asked.

"A bunch of dangerous little things," Kevin said. "They can burn you and sting you. I don't know what he is playing at making us care for those things. I thought he'd learned his lesson from last year. Apparently not. I don't want to work with those things either and they're only going to get bigger. They remind me of fire crabs but they're not. They're more dangerous."

"Never heard of them," I said. "Must be some foreign creature," and then I turned to Luna. "Maybe he'll bring in one of your mad creatures after all. Maybe you'll work with your Crumple Horned Snorkack next."

"Maybe," Luna said serenely. "But Blast Ended Skrewts are new you know. He cross bred with something. I expect Fire crabs with some other dangerous creature. Crumple Horned Snorkacks have always been around."

"Hmm, well I think I made the right decision not to take the class then. Divination isn't anywhere near as dangerous," I said.

I thought I heard Tasha mutter: "You could be right." but I wasn't sure. I just grinned down at my plate.


	16. Third Year Part Four

As the weeks went by, all anyone could talk about was the upcoming Tournament. Brianne and Benny wrote to me almost daily asking me about it. I couldn't tell them much more than what I already knew. I was looking forward to the other schools coming of course, but almost everyday I was checking for notices about Hogsmeade. I really wanted to visit the village and I knew I wasn't the only one. The other third years talked about nothing else.

"I heard it's not happening until after the Tournament," Nick said. "Guess they're just preparing for that instead."

A couple of his fingers were wrapped in bandages. He was having trouble working on the Arithmancy assignment we'd been assigned. He could hardly hold a quill.

"You know Madam Pomfrey could have that healed in seconds," I said. "What happened to you anyway?"

"Got burnt by a Skrewt," he replied. "Things are getting bigger and nastier."

"I know you like Hagrid, I do too, but those things really are dangerous," I said. "He should get rid of them before they get big and attack all of you."

"I agree and we've talked to him," he said. "We aren't the only ones. He has all his classes working with them, and plenty of people have talked to him. He doesn't listen. You know what he's like with his creatures though."

"Can't say he's any better than Moody though can you?" Tasha asked. "Should be really be using the Imperius Curse on us?"

For the last few classes, he'd been putting the Imperius curse on us. He wanted to teach us how to throw it off. The only person who could do it was Luna. Everyone else ended up doing whatever he wanted us. He'd made me jump from desk to desk and then turn cartwheels. A feat I could never do on my own. I'd tried throwing it off, but I just couldn't. Apparently Harry Potter could fight it off too.

"But he's showing us how to stop it," I said. "It's not as if he's teaching us to torture people."

"Yet," Tasha said.

"I can't see it happening," I said. "He doesn't want us to learn those curses, just to recognize them. There is a difference between teaching us how to fight dangerous curses and making kids work with creatures that could kill them. I bet you'd have no problem with him torturing the Skrewts."

"Well…" she began but she didn't finish but I had the answer. She wouldn't care.

No one liked the Skrewts and they all wanted them dead. A few times we'd already gone off to visit Hagrid and I'd caught sight of them. I was glad I wasn't taking the class. They were horrible looking. You couldn't even tell where their heads were.

Hermione Granger, who I'd barely spoken to over the last two years confronted me one evening in the library. I was on my own working on Divination. Brenda had been with me, but she'd gotten frustrated with me because she too thought it was a rubbish subject. So I was surprised when Hermione Granger sat down beside me at my table.

"What are you doing a rubbish subject like that?" She asked me. "I thought you were supposed to be one of the smartest in your year? I dropped it last year."

"How do you even know that about me?" I asked her. "I mean, everyone has heard of you but-"

"Ginny has told me about you," she said. "She's told me a few things about the Hoofer family. All good things of course," she added quickly when I raised my eyebrows at her.

"So did you come over here to lecture me about my school subjects? I mean we've hardly had conversations in the last two years. I think you've only talked to me through Ginny," I said. "I'm surprised you even know my name. Do you know my name?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "You're Barry Hoofer. But no, I didn't come here to talk about Divination," but she glared at my assignment anyway. "No, I just wanted to know if you were aware that House Elves do all your cleaning, and they cook all your meals?"

"Well, I had my suspicions," I said with a shrug. "I mean, how else was it all getting done. It's quite a big castle and Filch can't be doing it all. He's not even magical after all."

"Doesn't it bother to you know they are all enslaved to do our bidding?" She pressed.

"Well no, they like it don't they?" I asked.

"They only think they do. They're made to think they have to do everything for Wizards, and they can't speak freely or do anything else without being told what to do. They have to punish themselves if they don't do it properly," she said.

"Only if their masters are nutters," I said. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"I've started an organization to defend them. It's called Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare. I would like to make life better for them," and then she began telling me about an elf named Dobby and another one called Winky. "And she was fired all because she was found with a wand!"

"Did you see who cast that spell?" I asked her.

Apparently someone had cast the Dark Mark right near Hermione, Harry and Ron that night at the World Cup. I found this more interesting than what happened to the Elf named Winky.

"No, we just heard and all Winky did was pick it up and-"

"Was it male or female?" I asked.

"Male," she answered. "I don't know what happened that night. I'm not here to discuss that though. Don't you think it's wrong that Winky was fired for doing something she didn't even do? Mr. Crouch was her master-"

"You mean Barty Crouch? Well, it doesn't really surprise me. My dad told me isn't exactly a logical man. He tends to act without thinking. He's almost as paranoid as Moody, but he also only cares about his reputation," I said. "Look, Hermione I understand what you're trying to do here but most House Elves like it. You get mad people like Barty Crouch or whoever Dobby's owners were but you also get wizards who treat them really well. We had a House Elf when we were a lot younger, but mum and dad were never cruel to her. Neither were we. We were supposed to treat Elagar with respect and we didn't have that problem," I told.

"But they fired her didn't they?" Hermione asked.

"They found her another family who needed her," I said. "Once we got older, mum and dad wanted us to look after our own things and they also didn't think we needed one. We didn't just turn her out. Mum and dad made sure she went to a good family with plenty of kids. She loved kids after all. Not everyone is like Dobby's owners. Who were they anyway?"

"The Malfoy's," she said. "But that's not the point-"

"But it is the point," I said. "People like the Malfoys or Barty Crouch aren't very nice to most people, so they aren't going to be nice to a creature they consider a servant. The Hogwarts Elves likely aren't mistreated."

"But they're enslaved to look after us," she said.

"And they probably like it. I still don't understand why you've come to me about all this," I said.

"Because I am trying to get people to join SPEW," she told me and she pulled out a pink badge to show me.

"You want me to go around with a badge that says spew on it?" I asked her.

"It's SPEW!" She said with a bit of annoyance.

"It still says spew no matter what it stands for," I told her.

"Don't you think they deserve a lot better?" She asked. "You said it yourself that it's nutters who are horrible to them. Don't you think we should stop people like that for owning them? For now, our short term aims are to allow them to have wands and for them to have a representative in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They should also be paid wages-"

"Hermione," I interrupted. "If you go down to the Kitchens and suggest that they take wages, they'll be insulted. They also have their own magic. They can do it without wands. To be honest, the only thing I agree with you is for them to have a representative in the Ministry. They shouldn't have to live with abuse, but for the most part, most are very happy. Lucius Malfoy and maybe even Barty Crouch shouldn't have one, but what people like my family or your friend Ron's family? If for some reason they got one, do you really think they'd be abused?"

"Well, no," she said. "But they shouldn't be enslaved either. They aren't allowed to speak freely or anything. You do agree with me somewhat, so would you like to join the cause?"

"I suppose so, but I'm not wearing a pink badge," I said eyeing her spew badge. "I'm not so sure about wearing something that says spew at all. Couldn't you have come up with a better name?"

"None of it would fit," she said. "It's a sickle for a badge. If you could just recruit people, I'd be happy. What about your friends? Or you sister?"

"I can try, but I won't make any guarantees," I said. "Like I said, most House Elves enjoy it. The Hogwarts ones are probably very happy to be working here."

"Only because they think they are," she said.

"I'll look into it because I don't agree with the abuse Dobby went through, but that's it," I said. "But not a pink badge," I added as I reached into my pocket to pull out a sickle.

"Boys are ridiculous," she said smiling but she handed me a blue one instead. "Thanks for listening to me. But you know, Divination really is rubbish. You'd do better in Arithmancy or Ancient Runes."

"I'm taking them too. You're as bad as Tasha or my little brother Benny. I happen to like it," I said.

"You should listen to them," she said. "Well, I'm off to recruit more people."

"Wait, are we supposed to have monthly meetings or something?" I asked her.

"No, just check in with me from time to time," she said. "Maybe once we have more members we'll get to that point. I'll talk to you later Barry."

Once she was gone, I examined the badge. There was no way that I was going to wear something that said spew on it. I did understand some of her points, but I also knew House Elves. They liked it when they were treated well and there was no way Dumbledore would abuse the ones at Hogwarts.

Nick and Tasha ended up getting badges as well. Though I didn't think Nick actually care about SPEW. He'd had a crush on her since first year. He probably just wanted to get on her good side so she'd notice him. He complained for days afterwards that he could have been in the library when she'd come over. Tasha on the other hand agreed with her one hundred percent. When I'd talked to Brenda and Kendra about it, Brenda shot me down right away.

"She talked to me, and I'll say it again, it's stupid," Brenda said. "They like being enslaved."

I stopped after that. I figured I'd done my part so far. I was more interested in the Tri-wizard Tournament than some magical creatures who were mostly happy. I felt like October took forever to get through. Usually the first two months at Hogwarts went by quickly, but that year they dragged on. Finally though, a notice went up that the other schools would be arriving on October 30th.

The castle was going through more cleaning than usual. Filch was in more of a bad temper if students happened to track mud in, which apparently happened to the second years after a Herbology lesson. He'd reduced Brenda to tears and she'd been put in detention over it. I was about to go yell at him for it, but Tasha and Nick stopped me.

"You'll just get in detention too," Tasha told me.

"He shouldn't be yelling at my sister," I said.

"And she's a big girl. She can handle it," Nick told me. "And you know she'll tell you off if you get yourself into detention over her."

"Well, there is truth to that… but I hate that man. He's here to clean so he needs to get over it," I said angrily. "It's not our fault he's such a bitter squib."

Peeves seemed to want to mess as much things up as possible which was putting strain on the other teachers. They were also bad tempered. Why were we trying to impress these people so much? Surely their schools weren't perfect either. From what I'd read, they read in castles too. They expected dirt and grime.

"Do you think Chester is going to enter?" Nick asked. "I heard that Seeker Cedric Diggory is entering."

"Likely he is," I said. "He was seventeen a couple weeks ago. Ralph isn't happy about it. He's not seventeen until March. A lot of the sixth years think it should have been sixth year and older."

"Well, I agree," Tasha said. "I mean, they must have a reason for anyone younger but a seventeen year old sixth year won't know more than sixteen year old sixth year."

"More people could have entered," I said.

"Have you two worked out a way to get your names in?" Tasha asked.

"We tried getting some of Ralph and Chester's friends who aren't trying to enter us but they said no," I said. "Can't think of another way unfortunately. We have to fool this judge and it's a bit obvious we are young. I can't pull of being seventeen."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to enjoy watching it," Tasha said with a shrug.

"Well maybe once we see who this judge is we can figure it out," I said. "Too bad we didn't know human transfiguration but that's not until sixth year."

The thirtieth finally arrived. Classes ended early that day so we could get ready. We were to return our bags to the common rooms and then report to the Entrance Hall afterwards. There we were told to line up by year. McGonagall led out the first years first.

"How do you think they're getting here?" Nick asked once we were outside. "Flying or the train maybe?"

"Maybe," I said. "Wonder where they're sleeping."

"Do you think they'll be sorted for the year?" Tasha asked. "Then maybe they'll sleep in our common rooms."

"Ooh that'd be excellent!" Samaira said excitedly. "I can't wait to meet some of the boys."

"Because they're going to want to date a thirteen year old," Ivan said as he rolled his eyes.

"Fourteen," Samaira said.

"Yes, because that's better," Darren laughed.

Dumbledore suddenly announced that he thought the people from Beauxbatons were arriving. Everyone began looking around at this announcement. I was looking around the grounds expecting to see them on foot but I saw nothing.

"There!" Someone, a sixth year shouted pointing towards the forest.

I looked in the direction of the forest to see something flying over it.

"It's a dragon!" A first year girl shouted.

"Don't be stupid… it's a flying house," a first year boy said.

He was closer than the girl. It was a huge carriage that was being pulled by giant flying horses. As it lowered, we all stepped backwards. The horses seemed to be the size of elephants! Why did they need such a huge carriage! It was as big as a fair sized house. I supposed the students were going to live there, but there was still so much space.

When it landed, a door opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped out. He lowered some gold stairs. Moments later, a huge high heeled foot appeared. A huge woman stepped out. She had to be the same size as Hagrid! Maybe give or take a few inches but it wasn't by much. How many people were that size and why? I thought Hagrid was one of a kind, but there was a woman who just seemed too big to be possible. I'd gotten used to Hagrid's size after a couple years, but this woman seemed to go against nature.

"Wow," Philip said. "Could you imagine the bloke trying to shag her?"

A bunch of people snorted with laughter.

"'Course that's the first thing you think of," Kevin said. "You probably wish it could be you. You wouldn't know what to do with a normal girl though."

"Neither would you."

Unnoticed because our eyes were all on the woman, a bunch of students in the same pale blue robes had surrounded her. There were about a dozen boys and girls aged seventeen staring around and shivering. Their robes were quite light for our weather. Why hadn't they thought to wear warmer clothes?

The woman turned out to be their Headmistress. Dumbledore greeted her by the name of Madame Maxime and then she and the students went inside to warm up. I wish we went with them and not just because some of the girls were really pretty, but because I was getting cold myself. Next thing I knew, we could hear some kind of noise. It was like a sucking kind of noise and then a boy shouted for us to look at the lake.

What looked like a giant whirlpool had appeared in the lake. It was as if someone had pulled a plug in the lake or something. Then suddenly a ship appeared. It looked as if it had been part of a ship wreck at one point. How had they managed to charm a ship to travel underwater? Why hadn't they just gotten a submarine?

Every time I saw advanced magic like this, it made me think of just how much I had to learn. I wondered if even Flitwick could do that and he was the best person at Charms that I knew. I thought that my dad had been amazing until I'd met Flitwick. He could have done more with his talent than to be a teacher.

There was a loud splash and I imagined that someone had dropped an anchor. You could see people moving around in the lit port holes, and then they all began leaving the ship. I was curious about the Head of Durmstrang. Was it another huge person? All the people who left the ship seemed to be really big, until I realized that was just their cloaks. Either they lived somewhere really cold or else they thought the weather here was cold enough for those kind of cloaks. At least they were better prepared than the Beaxbaton's students. When I got a look of the Headmaster though, he seemed to be just an ordinary wizard. Dumbledore called him Karkaroff. He was middle aged I believed but I wasn't sure. He was tall and thin with a white goatee.

The Durmstrang students came forward, and as they came closer, the Hogwarts students began whispering. Viktor Krum was amongst them! We were going to be going to school with the a famous Seeker! I nudged Nick who nodded. Viktor seemed have a scowl on his face and he barely paid attention to anyone around him.

"I can't believe it's really him!" Tasha said as the Hogwarts students followed them inside. "Viktor Krum and I don't even have a quill on me for an autograph!"

"We have time for that," I told her. "I expect they'll be here all year."

"I hope so," she said. "Oh I want to meet him. Hurry, let's get closer to him!"

"Don't shove," someone said.

But most people were trying to get inside for a closer look, so they were all shoving. It took a while before we were able to all come inside. By the time we got to our table, it was to see that the Durmstrang students had gone over to the Slytherin table to take seats, while the Beauxbaton students had sat at our table.

"Can't complain too much," I said. "Look at those french girls. Let's get closer seats."

But this wasn't an easy feat since most of the older students were trying to do the same. We got close, but not enough to be able to talk to them.

"Like they'd look at a kid like you anyway," Darren said to me.

"Still nice to look at either way," I said.

"Can't argue with you on that one," he said. "Look at that blond. She's the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

"Why can't we have girls like that at our school?" Philip asked. "All we get are girls like Gretchen."

"Considering you comment on my looks all the time, I think you secretly like me," she said.

"You wish," he said.

"Ew no," she said.

"I don't know," I said. "Sometimes I think you two argue enough that you're secretly in love."

"Nope, not even close," he said. "Wouldn't matter if she looked like that french girl, still wouldn't want her."

"Think you protest too much," Darren said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up," Philip said and he folded his arms.

Gretchen had a tiny smirk on her face. He glared over at her and then looked to the front of the Hall. I gazed over at the Durmstrang students. It looked as if that Malfoy boy was trying to talk to Krum. I hoped that he would realize that the boy was nothing but scum.

All the teaching staff began entering the Hall once everyone had sat down. When Madam Maxime appeared, all the Beauxbaton's students jumped up. A few people laughed at this but the french students didn't seem to notice or care. They stayed on their feet until she took her own seat.

Dumbledore started out by greeting everyone, including the ghosts. When he said that he hoped that our guests would find Hogwarts to be enjoyable and comfortable, the beautiful girl let out a laugh. She had a muffler around her head. I wondered if she was a snob or something then. Why did she even come? Dumbledore told announced that the Tournament would officially start at the end of the feast and then food appeared on our plates. It was food I wasn't used to however.

"What is this?" Nick asked pointing at a dish full of brown dish.

"Who cares?" Philip said. "It's food."

I took the same kind of attitude. I was sure it had to be good. I began helping myself to as much as I could. My parents had always told us to try different foods and we'd traveled a few times when we were younger. I'd likely tried some of the food on the table before. We'd gone to France when I was about six or so. Nick was frowning at some of it, but he wasn't the only one.

Some people were taking small bites of their food. I on the other hand was eating as much as I could. It was different but most of it was delicious. There was some of it I didn't like, but most of it I loved. I was starting to get full quickly and we still had to wait for dessert.

"I wish we could eat like this all the time," I said. "Not that Hogwarts food isn't good, but wow."

"I'm not a fan of new things," Nick said as he sniffed something in green sauce. "I like predictable food."

"Don't even travel then," I said.

"It's delicious," Tasha said. "And I think I've eaten too much."

"Better save room for dessert," I said.

"Look, It's Ludo Bagman!" Nick said as he pointed to the teachers table.

"Who is Ludo Bagman?" Tasha asked.

"Famous Quidditch player," I said. "Well, he doesn't play anymore. He's Head of Department of Sports but he was great in his heyday. Played for the Wimbourne Wasps. And there is Barty Crouch. Guess they must be here for the Tournament too."

"Probably the judges," Samaira said. "The Heads of the school are judges and so are the Ministry workers I believe. What is Crouch head of?"

"Department of International Magical Cooperation," I answered. "He's the one who organized this I think. Probably was his idea to make it be for people of age. He's a strict person who cares about nothing but rules and his reputation. Might be best not to sneak in with him leading this."

"Probably throw the person in Azkaban," Philip said.

"Exaggerating aren't you?" Tasha asked.

"Nope. He threw a lot of people in Azkaban with no trial according to dad. There are some innocent people in there apparently. It wouldn't take much for him to throw someone in there for breaking the rules. He went a bit mad once his son was sent there I guess. He was supposed to be Minister for Magic but after that everything changed," Philip said.

"His son?" Tasha gasped.

"Yes," I said. "I'll tell you about that later. I only just found out about it myself. Dad told me when I wrote to him about his House Elf."

When all the plates were cleared, Dumbledore stood up again.

"The moment has come," Dumbledore said as he smiled around at everyone. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket-"

"Casket? Like a coffin?" Gretchen asked.

"Obviously not," Darren said. "I wonder if it hurts to be as stupid as you. Still can't understand how you're in Ravenclaw."

Dumbledore introduced both Crouch and Bagman while Darren and Gretchen began to argue.

"Shh!" An older student said. "These little kids," she said to her friend as she shook her head.

I felt annoyance when she said this. I was no little kid. In less than two months I would be fourteen and I believed she was a sixth year. She was just two years older likely. Gretchen's face was red and I thought she looked close to tears. She folded her arms and looked back over at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore asked Filch to bring the casket in. I was curious about what he meant as well, although I knew he didn't mean coffin. Darren had a point that it was a stupid question. I didn't say this though. Filch appeared with a wooden chest with jewels on it. It looked very old and I figured it had to be at least six hundred years old. Everyone stood up at this point for a closer look.

Dumbledore continued to explain that the tasks would be explained by Crouch and Bagman. He explained how each Champion would be chosen, and apparently it would be chosen by the Goblet of Fire. So it wasn't actually a person doing it. Perhaps there was still a way to get our names in then. The hall was so quiet by this point.

After he said all this, he tapped the chest three times and it opened. He pulled out a wooden Goblet that had blue-white flames dancing out of it. He closed the casket and then set the Goblet on top of it so we could all see it.

Dumbledore then explained that for the people who wanted to submit there name just had to write their name on a piece of parchment, and put it in the Goblet. They had twenty-four hours to do so and the Goblet would judge each name. The next night (Halloween) it would return three names, one from each school that it had judged. Whoever it thought was the most worthy would be the Champions. He continued on that he would be putting an age line around it so no one underage could get in.

"There must still be a way," Ivan whispered. "It's just an age line and the Goblet."

"But if Dumbledore draws it-" Tasha began.

"Hoofer," Philip said turning to me. "You're good at Potions! You could make an aging potion!"

"Maybe," I said slowly. "It's advanced though. I'll have to find it. I don't think it's a third year potion."

Everyone began leaving after Dumbledore said good night. I could hear many under age people talking about how to get in.

"Barry!" I heard my name. I turned to see Brenda not too far from behind us. "If you try to sneak your name in, I will tell mum and dad!"

"Tattle-tale!" I said to her angrily. "Go away you little rat!"

Of course she would rat me out. She had nothing better to do. I was so tired of her. I didn't say much as we made our way up the steps. She was right behind us. It wasn't until we were in our dorms before Nick turned to me.

"Are you still going to try?"

"I don't know," I said with annoyance. "She's going to watch me like a hawk. I think she just wants it to be me that gets in trouble for a change. I am so fed up with her. Kendra had said back in the summer that she was usually sweet, but I didn't know what to believe.

"Oh come on," Darren said. "You're probably one of the only ones that can make that potion! You need to try."

"We'll just have to get up super early to try," Nick said. "Or one of us can put your name in for you. Check the book to see if that potion is in it."

"How am I going to make a potion in here? We'll need to heat it up."

"In the bathroom in one of the sinks," Ivan said.

"I don't know," I said but I pulled out my potions book to look through it. "Well, it's in here. It looks simple enough. Philip, you're good at those flames, go start one. I'll see what I can do. It's fifth year level though. It says OWL level here, so I may not make it properly. Someone else needs to help me cut up ingredients."

"Um, it might sound disgusting but it's probably better to use a toilet," Philip said. "Only a sink won't hold it properly I don't think."

"Whatever," I said. "It's not as if any toilet water is going in it. Do whatever you think is best. Now, I think we have all these ingredients…"

"I stock up on whatever I can," Kevin said. "Mum and dad make me. They say you never know, so I have stuff we haven't use yet. I might have it. You know, they're muggles so they don't understand but they want me to as prepared as possible."

"Guess that's good for us," I said. "But I doubt anyone has red wine."

"Your cousins always have alcohol," Nick said. "I'll go see if they have red wine. I'll tell them we're celebrating."

"Okay, well we also need mashed Hairy Fungus and powdered tortoise shell. You have any of that? The rest of this we have… well, maybe not the prune juice," I added.

"But that's probably in the kitchens," Ivan said. "I'll try to get down there. I know where it is."

"Oh but-" I began but he was out the door before I could say anything. "You might get caught," I said and shook my head.

"Let him be," Darren said. "He has snuck out before. He might be fine."

"They might be watching for people trying to put their names in the Goblet though," I said.

"You must not of the passage that bypasses the Entrance Hall then," Darren said.

"Nope, you'll have to show us," I said. "Where does it go then?"

"Down the corridor from the Kitchen's. It starts a couple floors below here. We discovered it when we went down to see where the Hufflepuff Common Room was. We kept going until we got to the end. I don't think it's necessarily secret, it's just another way to get down to Hufflepuff from classes. It's just easier to get to the Kitchens at night," Darren explained.

Nick appeared with half a bottle.

"Chester actually had some," he said.

"I just need the prune juice now," I said. "I have to heat the wine and prune juice first. Is that Hairy Fungus mashed yet?" I added to Kevin.

"Working on it," he said.

"I'll need it once the wine and prune juice bubbles," I said. "Then I have to stir clockwise for ten minutes."

Nick sat beside me just as Philip reappeared.

"Well the fire is ready," he said.

"The potion doesn't look that hard," he said reading through it. "Seems like something we'd make in class now."

"It does seem basic, but there must be a reason it's OWL level," I said. "Someone could slice the caterpillar and dice the bat tongue. I'll get the cauldron ready. I just hope Ivan doesn't get caught. They could be patrolling the corridors a lot more."

"Does it say how much we need to take?" Philip asked.

"Depends on your age," I said. "I think we need at least a mouthful for a few years. Says just a drop if you need a few months or so but the younger you are, the more you take."

I walked over to levitate my cauldron. Philip followed me to show my the stall he had chosen. Flames were already dancing in it. I set it on the floor in front of the toilet.

"Well, I suppose we can put the red wine in," I said. "I need one hundred milliliters and then ten milliliters of prune juice."

Nick came in carrying the red wine and a measuring cup. I measured out the amount I needed and then handed the bottle back. Nick took a sip and then made a face.

"Wine isn't all that pleasant," he said.

"I expect not," I said staring into the cauldron. "Dad once told me that's how he started out drinking. His parents wanted him to try that first before the tasty stuff. I get the feeling he'll do that to me even though I've already drank. Might do that at Christmas actually. I think it's fourteen that he said I could try some."

"I thought he said we might want to stay," Nick said.

"Well, if I go home then," I said.

Ivan appeared grinning with a cup of prune juice.

"Grabbed other good too," he told me as he handed me the cup. "Figured we might as well enjoy ourselves. Those elves love giving food away. Don't know why Hermione Granger is fighting it so much."

"She just means well," I said as I measured out ten milliliters into the cauldron. "Here, someone can drink the rest of this."

I pulled my wand out from my pocket and then levitated it onto the toilet. I needed to control the flame a bit. It needed to be boiled slowly.

"Might as well get everything else ready," I said as I sat on the floor to stir it clockwise.

"The Hairy Fungus is ready," Kevin told me as he came over. "Should I pour it-"

"No," I said quickly stopping him. "It still needs to boil."

"Let Hoofer do it all," Philip said. "Let's just enjoy this wine. Might as well," and he looked at me. "You can't have any until you've finished the potion."

"I'm good," I said as the prune juice and wine slowly started to boil. "If you have anything else I'll have some but I don't want wine."

"We have butterbeer too," Ivan said. "You can have that now."

"How did you get all that up here?" I asked. "You only have two arms."

"Well, Hoofer, there is this thing called magic. You may have heard of it," he said.

The bubbles began to form so I quickly added the Hairy Fungus while still stirring it. It did as the book said it would and it slowly turned a lighter purple/brown colour.

Ivan left and returned with an open butterbeer which he handed to me. I took a drink and continued stirring.

It took a long while, but soon enough I was able to take it off the flame to add the last remaining ingredients. Finally, as it cooled down, it turned the milky white colour it needed to. The boys had brought in six vials while I had worked. I could hear them laughing in the dorms. Slowly, I poured a mouthful in each vial. I decided to store the rest in another bottle. There might be another time when we needed it. I stopped the flame in the toilet and then quickly cleaned everything up.

I went into the dormitory where I handed everyone their vial.

"So are we getting up really early tomorrow?" I asked when I sat down.

"We were talking about that," Nick said. "I think we should wait until someone else has tried getting in. It might not work. We'll need to make sure your sister isn't around either. I think she'll be watching all of us. Ralph told me she threatened the same thing to him, so she'll probably rat us out too."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course she did. At least we'll have this for something else if we need it. Maybe we can use it to buy alcohol or something. It must make us look older or different. There is still a lot of it left you know."

"Brilliant," Kevin said. "We can make use of this stuff."

The next day, we went down early despite how late we stayed up. I think most people did just so they could see who put their names in. Several people were in the Entrance Hall watching. From what we heard, the foreign students had already put their names in the Goblet. As we watched, The Weasley twins and another boy hurried into the Entrance Hall. Potter and his friends were there and I wondered if they'd attempted it.

From what one of the twins said, they'd tried an aging potion. I nudged Nick at this and he nodded. We moved closer to watch. If they succeeded, we could try later. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brenda staring at me with her arms folded. She was in the doorway of the Great Hall.

"Brenda is watching," I muttered to Nick.

The twins stepped over the golden age line that circled the Goblet. Nothing happened, and I got excited. Later that night we could try to slip our names in then! Brenda couldn't watch me all day! However, I couldn't think about this much longer. There was a sizzling sound and the twins were suddenly thrown out of the circle.

"Drat!" Nick said.

Moments later, there was a loud popping sound and the boys had long white beards. Everyone began to laugh.

"Glad we waited," I muttered. "We'll have to tell the others."

"I did warn you," Dumbledore said as he stepped out of the Great Hall but he looked amused. Apparently they weren't the first ones who'd tried. A girl from our house had and so had some boy from Hufflepuff.

The Entrance Hall was still ringing with laughter as we went inside. I saw the other boys and sitting with the third year girls. I glanced at Brenda who was still by the doors. She smirked at me and I glared back at her. Without another look at her, I walked fast over to the third years and took a seat.

"Aging potion won't work," Philip said the moment we sat down.

"We know," Nick said. "We just saw that."

"Well, it can't be a complete waste," I said. "Maybe we can try it in Hogsmeade when we go. Might be able to get alcohol. At least I know how to make it now too."

"How long does it last?" Tasha asked.

"About an hour," I said. "And of course Brenda looks all happy about it," I added as I glared again at my sister who was still smiling at me.

"Just ignore her," Tasha said. "She just angers you. Might as well hang out in the grounds for the day. Not much can happen right now."

"You're right," I said still feeling miserable. "Anything to get away from her!"

Later that night, we were all back in the Great Hall getting ready to see who the champions would be. I'd cheered up considerably since the morning. I was able to ignore my sister for the rest of the day. I was also happy about the fact that for two days in a row we were getting a feast. The Halloween feast was always one of the feasts of the year.

We weren't able to get seats close to the french students this time. Everyone discussed who they thought would be Champion. I really hoped the Hogwarts Champion would be Chester. At least it would be a Ravenclaw and someone in the family.

The Great Hall went quiet when all the golden plates were wiped clean. Dumbledore announced that the Goblet only needed about a minute more before it would choose. He then explained that whoever would be chosen would go to a room off from where the teachers table was. Not the one we'd been sorted in, but a different one. With a wave of his wand, he snuffed out all the candles except the ones in the pumpkins so that it was almost completely dark except the Goblet of Fire which seemed to glow more in the dark. I crossed my fingers for Chester. Perhaps if I helped him out, he'd give me some of the prize money.

"It's got to happen any moment," I heard Katrina whisper.

And then the blue-white flames turned red and shot up and piece of parchment shot out of it. Dumbledore caught the charred piece from the air.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore called out.

Everyone began cheering. I wasn't all that surprised and I didn't think anyone else was. Viktor got up and disappeared through the doorway Dumbledore had told him to go through. His Headmaster was cheering him on.

"Should have known," I said as I clapped my hands hard.

When the clapping died down, the flames in the Goblet which had turned blue-white turned red once again. Moments later, another parchment shot out.

"The champion for Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour!" Dumbledore called out.

It was the hot french girl who was chosen. Everyone cheered, that is except her school mates. While Viktor's classmates had been happy for him, Fleur's weren't. Some of the girls were even crying. Either they were sore losers or they didn't like her. The rest of the Hall cheering made up for that though.

Fleur left through the same door that Krum had and now everyone was waiting for the final champion. Our champion. I crossed my fingers even harder. Chester. Chester. Chester. I chanted in my head as the flames went red once again. The final piece of parchment shot out. I held my breath as Dumbledore caught it.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore yelled.

I sighed but I began to clap. I didn't mind Diggory too much. He was usually nice to the younger years. He had been to us a few times even though I'd never had a proper conversation with him, and he was Hufflepuff. He was also an excellent Quidditch player and not a Gryffindor. I had nothing against Gryffindor's of course but it seemed all the glory always went to their house. If not them, then it was Slytherin. At least it was Hufflepuff which was under represented. A loud cheer was going through the Hall. I noticed all the Hufflepuff's were even on their feet cheering.

"Good for them," I said as I clapped. "Hufflepuff's never get recognition do they?"

"No, if it was anyone I am glad it's Diggory," Philip said.

"He's so handsome too," Gretchen said.

"He'll never notice you," Katrina said to her. "Don't even bother."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called out once we were all done clapping and cheering. All the Hufflepuff's returned to their seats. "Well, we now have our three champions! I am sure counting on all you, including the remaining students from Beauxbations and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

Dumbledore suddenly stopped talking, the Goblet which had gone blue-white had once again turned red. Everyone stared at it. What was going on? All the champions were picked weren't they? I wondered. Dumbledore seemed confused so it wasn't supposed to do that. Anpther parchment shot out of it and Dumbledore grabbed it. Everyone stared at him as he read it. Then he cleared his throat and called out:

"Harry Potter!"


	17. Third Year Part Five

"What?" Nick asked.

"How?" Philip asked.

"It can't be!" I said.

We weren't the only ones. Everyone else was asking the same thing. How had Harry gotten his name in the Goblet? How did he manage to get it so Hogwarts had two champions? No one clapped. I turned in my seat to look for him at the Gryffindor table. Many others were as well. I found him with his friends. He wasn't moving, and he even looked shocked himself. Was he shocked because it had worked or was something else happening?

"Why is it always him?" I heard Gretchen ask and I agreed with her for once.

The teachers were all confused as well. The two other Heads of the schools looked angry, but I couldn't blame them. I saw McGonagall walk over to Dumbledore and whisper something to him.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. "Hurry! Up here, if you please."

I wasn't sure what to think as I watched him get up and walk slowly between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. For one thing, he still looked confused and shocked, but he could be a really good actor. All I knew was that it wasn't fair! He had managed to get in when no one else could. But if he was so confused that meant, he didn't do it. Why would someone else put his name in the Goblet though?

When Harry was gone, Dumbledore dismissed the rest of us from the Great Hall.

"I can't believe it!" Ivan said angrily. "How does he always manage to worm his way into everything?"

"But I don't think he did this time," Tasha said. "Did you see how confused he looked?"

"But why would someone put him in the Goblet?" Philip asked.

"Everything always happens to him," I said. "Every year he is the center of attention."

All the way up to common room, everyone complained. It just wasn't right. I figured I'd write home to see what my parents opinions were. While I thought about it as we got ready for bed, it was odd how he'd managed to trick the Goblet into spitting out his name. Maybe it hadn't been him after all, but why would someone put him in there?

Most people were angry about what had happened. I'd written home to my parents to see their opinion, but they didn't get back to me right away. Meanwhile, the Slytherin's were passing out badges to everyone. I took a badge from Carter, a boy in my year and read it.

Support CEDRIC DIGGORY

The REAL Hogwarts Champion!

"Watch what it does," Carter said and he pressed it so it said POTTER STINKS! "But you're probably too goody to wear this."

"No," I said and I pinned it to my robes. "I happen to agree. I'd like to have gotten in. I'm not that much younger than him after all. Doesn't seem right he gets no punishment."

I still wasn't sure if he'd done it himself or not, but I still couldn't figure out why someone else would do it. I was angry either way. There he was doing what everyone had wanted to do. He was now a champion and could win a thousand galleons! Nick and the rest of my classmates except Luna and Tasha took badges.

"I just don't think he did it," Tasha said. "He looked shocked when they called out his name."

"Someone could be trying to kill him," Luna added. "I'm not wearing something that shames someone anyway."

She was bullied so much I supposed it made sense why she wouldn't wear one. She walked off into our Defense class without a backward glance.

"Right," Devon Harper said. "Someone wants to kill him. She really is looney."

The Slytherin's walked into the classroom laughing. I thought at first that it was just our year that had the badges, but through out the days I noticed more and more people wearing them. Not too many Gryffindors had them, but they were probably happy just to have a champion. It was the three other houses that wore them.

"I can't believe you two are still wearing those," Tasha said with annoyance.

"Well, he is always getting everything," Nick said with annoyance.

"What do you mean? The things that happen to him are never good. Chamber of Secrets? Having a murderer after him? You know, you'd better hope Hagrid doesn't see you wearing those," she said angrily. "I think Luna is right. I think someone put his name in the Goblet to get him killed. There could be a very good reason for why Mad-Eye is here. We discussed this before you know."

"He won't get killed," Nick said. "The tasks can't be that hard otherwise they wouldn't set them. I think he got someone to trick the Goblet. I agree he couldn't have done it himself. He's friendly with all these adults. He could have convinced anyone."

"That's just ridiculous!" Tasha said.

"So is saying that someone did it just to kill him," Nick retorted. "Why are you defending him do much anyway?"

"Because I think he's being treated very unfairly and anyone with a brain could see how shocked he was," Tasha said angrily. "It's bullying what everyone is doing! And let's face it, if you two had found a way to get in, you'd have tried it! Even if it meant Hogwarts still had two champions! This is all just jealousy! It's very wrong what you two are doing! Barry, I know you're in two minds about this! It's just pure jealousy with you."

She was right about that. I was very jealous about the fact that he was underage and he was competing.

"You're not willing to wear Hermione's badges, but you're willing to wear something that bullies someone," she continued.

"It says spew on it Tasha, and you won't wear yours either," I said.

"But I won't wear the Potter Stinks! badges either," she said. "I think most people wearing those badges are just jumping on the band-wagon. If you had any sense of decency, you'd take those off."

"She's right," Nick muttered to me as he took his off and then looked at her. "You're right."

I unclipped mine from my robes and tossed it aside. I knew my parents wouldn't be too happy about this either.

"He's getting enough as it is," Tasha said. "And I just can't believe you two of all people would wear those. You're both usually a lot more decent than this."

Later that day, my parents finally got back to me. It was a long letter mainly from dad, but mum put her input into it once and awhile. Neither thought he had put his name in it because the Goblet was charmed to pick three champions. Dad believed that someone had put his name in under another school and that it was a powerful wizard.

"I wonder how much you know about Karkaroff," dad had written. "He used to be in Azkaban because he was a Death Eater but he got out after he sold out a bunch of other Death Eaters. I think it's why Dumbledore has Mad-Eye there. There is no reason for you lot to talk to him, but I'll still ask that you stay away from him. Keep close to Mad-Eye Moody. He may have gone mad over the years, but he'll be keeping an eye on him."

And it went on. I read most of the letter to Tasha and Nick.

"But he seemed angry when Harry was chosen," Nick said.

"Well he must have been a good actor if he pretended to be good all these years," Tasha said. "It makes sense for why Dumbledore has Mad-Eye here. He can keep an eye on him. He tricked the Goblet and he put Harry's name in it. He can pretend all the while to be cheering on Krum."

"Guess he's the only one who makes sense unless it was Snape," I said. "He's powerful too."

An article came out in the Daily Prophet that did make me question it all again. It seemed he was trying to get attention in the article and he went on about crying about his parents, it was like he was trying to get sympathy or something. Maybe he didn't put his name in, but maybe now he was enjoying all the attention, good or bad.

"But wasn't it you that said Rita Skeeter exaggerates things?" Tasha asked. "He might have just mentioned his parents, and she turned it all into that. I thought he avoided talking about his parents."

"Well…" Nick said slowly. "I can't really see him saying he cries about this parents. She does tend to make things up, but there was hardly any mention of Cedric. It talks about the other three champions briefly but it's all about Harry."

"She's writing what sells," Tasha said. "You two are determined to hate him."

"I don't hate him and I stopped wearing the badge," I said. "It just makes me question things when I read articles like that. I don't know what to believe."

"I tried talking to your sister about her badge," Tasha said with a sigh. "She threatened to hex me if I didn't get away from her. I thought she was over what happened last Christmas, but I don't think she is."

"She what?" I asked angrily now.

"Don't worry about it Barry," Tasha said. "I just thought you ought to know that she won't take her badge off."

"I've stopped worrying about what she does," I said. "But she shouldn't be threatening you either. I thought she was past that too. Are you sure it was over that?"

"Well yes, she mentioned it when she told me to go away," Tasha replied. "She seemed almost friendly in the summer but maybe that was for your parents sake. I thought maybe she was just jealous too like you two were, but she seems very against Harry and she said the article proved her point."

"That girl is just an angry girl," Nick said. "I don't even bother with her anymore."

I was still going to have a word with her about threatening Tasha. I was leaning more towards staying for Christmas that year. Brenda was going home, and since she was, I seriously considered staying. Mum had told us it was worth staying and Tasha and Nick already decided they were staying. I just knew I'd miss Brianne and Benny, but being away from my sister for a few weeks seemed was even better.

Not too much longer after that, we were finally able to go to Hogsmeade. We woke up very early deciding not to even eat that day. We figured we'd find food there. So we met up with Tasha in the common room, and then hurried to the secret passage to the Entrance Hall. We weren't the only ones wanting to get there early. There was already a line up of kids waiting for Filch to check their names off, and most of them were our fellow third years. I saw Olivia holding hands with some bloke. Apparently she already had another boyfriend. How did she move on so quick? I hadn't found anyone else I liked.

"Last I heard, she's onto boyfriend number five," Tasha told me once we were walking across the lawn.

"She's going to be one of those," Nick said.

"Should I have found someone already?" I asked.

"If you don't like anyone, why bother?" Tasha asked me.

"Well, I notice cute girls all the time and everyone tells me a lot of girls fancy me," I said. "Maybe after today, I should start asking girls out to Hogsmeade. It's the only way to get to know them."

"I don't see why you're getting so self-conscious about this," Tasha said.

"Because I will be fourteen in December. I just feel like I should have more experience, you know? Olivia is almost a year younger."

"And she's moving too fast," Tasha said.

"I kind of see his point," Nick said. "Samaira has been snogging blokes around the castle."

"So you two are getting all unhappy because your ex's are more experienced?" Tasha asked with a smile. "Of all the things you could get self-conscious over, it's that?"

Nick shrugged. "Don't you ever feel that way? I know last year you thought you were too young, but you must not anymore."

"I've had boys ask me out," she replied. "But I've said no. I wanted to hang out with you two today. I might be ready soon."

"Who?" I demanded.

"Don't worry about it," she answered.

"Why is it a big secret? We're your friends," Nick said.

"Well, I just think you two will get all over protective and… well, yell at them," she replied. "You seem defensive right now."

"We probably will treat you like a sister," Nick said. "But we won't overreact unless we have to, right Barry?"

"No, we won't bother whoever it was," I said. "So who was it?"

"Well, Colin Creevey did a few weeks ago, and Philip did last week, and well, Carter did the other day," she told us.

I did feel annoyance and for some reason jealousy. I figured it had to be because I wanted that much attention. Why else would I get jealous? I pushed those feelings away though. I'd promised I wouldn't get angry.

"Not really surprised about Creevey or Philip," Nick said. "But Carter? He's Slytherin and you're muggleborn."

"Not all Slytherin's think like that and Carter's parents wouldn't be happy if he did hate them," I said. "But I'm still surprised just because his best friend is Harper and he doesn't like muggleborns."

"So why did you say no? Just didn't like them or what?"

"Well, Colin is actually really sweet, but I don't know… I just don't think we'd get along and Philip can be so mean. I don't like bullies," she responded.

"And Carter?" I asked.

"You two wouldn't like it," she said.

"But you'd have said yes?" Nick asked her and she nodded before looking at me and then looking away.

"Tasha, we aren't going to stand in your way," I said. "And I don't have any problems with Carter. Next time he asks, if he does, you should yes."

And yet I hated it, and not because it was Carter. I couldn't explain it but I just didn't want her dating but like I said, we couldn't stand in her way.

"Next time a bloke you like asks you should," Nick told her. "We'll protect you if we have to, but we're not going to stop you either. That's not right."

Tasha nodded. "If someone does, but lets not worry about that today. It's Hogsmeade and we're finally going! We've waited forever! Where are we going first?"

"Honey Dukes?" I asked.

"I want to eat first," Nick said. "I'm starving. Three Broomsticks for breakfast and then where ever after. We should go see the Shrieking Shack."

We went straight the Three Broomsticks where we each ordered a big breakfast. It was so big in fact, that we had a hard time finishing everything on our plates. I felt as if I could explode by the end of it, but it was well worth it. Afterwards, we decided to go to Honey Dukes. I'd brought a bag just so I could fill it full of chocolates.

"We should do our Christmas shopping while we're here," I said as I picked out some candy for Brianne and Benny.

"Are you staying for Christmas?" Tasha asked.

"I think I will yes," I said. "So I'll have to send them all their presents. I just need to be away from Brenda. I notice her even staring at me in the common room. She just seems so damn satisfied," I said. "I can't deal with it anymore."

So after Honey Dukes, we walked around looking for stores we could buy Christmas gifts from. We stopped at Zonkos and bought some joke items as well. We went up to look at the Shrieking Shack but it didn't seem exciting. It was just a boarded up house. You couldn't hear the ghosts if there were even any there. I didn't think there were considering Sirius Black had lived in there last year. Later on, we went back to The Three Broomsticks for some drinks before we went back to the castle. All in all, we felt it was a great day.

The first task wasn't too long after that. Classes were ending early that day. I wondered what the champions would be doing and how Harry would fare. Most people were still wearing the Potter Stinks! badges, but I'd noticed a few more had taken them off in my House. Brenda still wore hers, and at times I thought it was to annoy both Tasha and me.

I'd gone over to yell at her for what she'd said to Tasha and she just seemed smug about it. She then flashed Potter Stinks! at me and walked off. If anyone was doing it to be a bully, she certainly was.

"Your sister isn't very nice is she?" Luna asked me in Divination the day of the task.

"She hasn't been bothering you again has she?" I asked.

"My things always come back," Luna said.

"But she is stealing from you?" I demanded.

"Don't go after her Barry," Luna said to me. "I imagine she is really insecure and it helps her feel better."

"But she shouldn't be doing that to make herself feel better!" I said indignantly. "Luna, you are way too nice."

"I just understand people," Luna said to me. "People don't really dislike me as much as they appear to do. They are mean to me, and they may not want to be my friend, but they don't dislike me that much. I'm just an easy target because they think I am Looney when I'm not. I'm just as sane as anyone else, I just happen to have an open mind."

"That's one way of putting it, but Luna, you can't make excuses for people stealing your things, even if it all does all come back," I told her.

"I am very observant of people," she said. "I see things most people don't. I also know you're in love with Tasha, but you're in denial."

"I am not in love with Tasha," I said. "She's my best friend. Where do you get some of your insights though? Some of it is spot on."

"I told you, I'm observant," she said. "I've heard Philip say I have a staring problem… but it's just that I am observing everyone. I'm not meaning to stare but you can't observe without staring."

"So what is your opinion on Gretchen and Philip then?" I asked. "You were there for that conversation."

"They don't like each other and I don't believe they ever will," she said but then shrugged. "But what do I know? I may take Divination, but I am no seer. Right now, Philip does hate her a lot. Gretchen is very unkind, especially to me. I think she too is hiding some deep insecurities and it's why she is so unkind to everyone. She isn't very pretty, and I believe that's one of the reasons for it."

I smiled. "It doesn't help that people insult her often. She brings it on herself most of the time though. I don't think we'd do it as often if she wasn't such a bully. No one ever bothers Darren after all."

"Girls have a harder time when it comes to looks than boys though," Luna said. "We are judged more often. Sometimes I wonder if that's why people bother me as well."

"But you aren't ugly at all," I said.

"You're very kind," she said with a smile.

"Well, it's the truth," I said.

And it was true. In fact, she was very cute but I think most people didn't notice because she was an oddity. I just smiled at her and she smiled back before looking down at her cup. I just hoped she didn't think that meant I liked her, because I didn't. I wasn't sure what to do when it came to girls at times and compliments. She looked back at me.

"I know you don't like me like that," Luna told me. "Don't worry."

"How did you-" I began.

"I could tell," she said. "I know it was just a compliment."

"So did you take Divination because you can read people?" I asked her. "From what I read about it, you have to be able to read people to read correctly. I mean, you don't have to be a seer to read correctly either."

Luna nodded. "And it's just very interesting to me. My dad did say that Professor Trelawney does get predictions right from time to time. She just doesn't know it."

"I'd be surprised by that," I said. "So are you going to the task after lunch? You can sit with us if you want."

"Thank you Barry," she said. "You've been very kind lately."

Lately? I thought. I didn't believe there was ever a time I'd been mean to her. I didn't question this though. I just gave a shrug and told her we'd meet up with Tasha and Nick at lunch. I knew Tasha wouldn't mind at all, but Nick might. I didn't care though. She was often on her own and I didn't want her to think I disliked her.

So after class, we headed down to the Great Hall for a quick lunch. Tasha and Nick were sitting together and talking about the first task. We sat across from them.

"We hoped you won't take forever," Nick said. "Hurry and eat and then we can go."

"Luna is going to join us," I said as picked up a sandwich.

"As long as you eat quick," Nick told her. "We need good seats."

"Why don't we just take sandwiches to go?" Tasha asked.

"Good idea," I said and I grabbed a few chicken sandwiches and a bottle of pumpkin juice.

The four of us hurried out of the Great Hall. We weren't the only ones. Many others were eating and walking. We were headed it seemed to the edge of the of the forest. As we got closer, I noticed a huge tent was up but everyone was walking past it. Behind it, there were bleachers set up. I was glad we'd decided to go early so we could get top seats. They were around some kind of enclosure. I wondered what exactly they were going against. It had to be some kind of creature. The four of us took spots right at the top. It wasn't long before the other third years came to sit with us.

"I hear they're fighting cockatrice," Samaira said.

"Can't be," Nick said. "That's what killed people in the last tournament."

"Daddy heard they're transporting Sphinxes for the Tournament," Luna spoke up.

"Not likely," Philip said. "Maybe they have to fight those awful creatures Hagrid is breeding. Maybe that's the point to them."

"That could very well be," I said. "Otherwise why else would Dumbledore allow that?"

"Well, I'll be glad we don't have to deal with them in class," Tasha said.

It turned out we were very wrong. The champions weren't dealing with the Skrewts. They had to get past dragons! It made sense now why they wanted people to be of age, and for the first time, I was glad that I hadn't been chosen. The first dragon was a Swedish Short-snout and Cedric Diggory had to get past it.

He did a cool bit of magic where he transfigured a rock into a dog. I imagined it was to get the dragon to go after the dog instead of him. It seemed to work at first. He managed to get to the egg but the dragon noticed and it went after him instead. The girls screamed as the dragon blew fire at him and he got burnt, but he managed to get away.

The judges marked out of ten afterwards and he got a decent score. So everyone at Hogwarts began to cheer. He did a lot better than I would have. I didn't know what I would have done being faced with a dragon, and apparently they didn't even know until now. I wonder how Harry would handle it. For the first time, I began to feel sorry for him.

Fleur Delacour was next. She had to take on a Welsh Green. She walked out in her haughty manner. She didn't even seem nervous at all. Perhaps that was why the Goblet had picked her. A dragon didn't even seem to scare her. She used some kind of curse on it that put it in a trance which worked for her. She grabbed the egg, but then the dragon let out a jet of flame at her as it got sleepy. She got away though and put her skirt out with fire.

She got an okay score. It wasn't as good as Cedric's which we all seemed to be relieved about because everyone clapped for her.

Krum was next. He had a Chinese Fireball.

"I'm starting to think they knew beforehand," Tasha said. "They seem to have it planned out don't you think? It's not like they are just coming up with these curses on the spot."

I believed she was right.

Krum hit the dragon with something in the eye. He managed to get the egg, but the dragon trampled her eggs. So he lost points over that, although Karkaroff gave him full marks even though he didn't deserve it. Many people were shouting in anger about this.

"Now it's Potter," Philip said. "Don't know how he's going to get past it. I'm starting to believe you Tasha. I don't think he put his name in that Goblet."

Harry had to take on a Hungarian Horntail. I didn't know much about dragons, but out of the four, I knew that one was the worse. Dragons of course were all ferocious so it sounded odd to describe it that way, but it was the best way to do it. I didn't know how Harry would get it and I couldn't believe they gave him the worst one.

"Someone really does want to kill him!" Ivan said.

Harry walked out into the enclosure. He stuck out his wand and shouted something but I didn't hear what it was.

"What did he do?" Tasha asked.

"Dunno," Nick said. "But he better have a good trick up his sleeve. For his sake, I hope he did know about the dragons beforehand."

And suddenly, his Firebolt appeared next to him. He was going to fly! People began cheering when they saw this. He climbed onto the broom and began to fly. I'd forgotten how well he could fly and Bagman agreed as he shouted:

"Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

He seemed to want to annoy the dragon so she'd move. It seemed to be a good tactic. He was doing really well so far, anytime she blew fire at him, he got out of the way. However, as I thought this, she managed to hit him with her tail. They were called Horntails for a reason. One of the horns hit his shoulder and from our seats and from our spots, we could see the cut. I wasn't the only one who let out a groan, it echoed around me. The girls were all clutching their faces.

This didn't seem to bother him though. It was as if he'd just been hit by a bludger. He just kept flying around, still trying to confuse her so she'd move. It finally seemed to work. He dived, grabbed the egg and before she could do anything, he was flying off.

The girls jumped up to cheer, and I joined them moments later. We weren't the only ones. One by one, people began standing on their seats as they shouted out excitedly. Philip and Kevin both took their Potter Stinks! badges off their robes and tossed them. I guessed they wouldn't be the only ones. Likely by the end of the day, most of those badges would be gone.

"Look at that!" Bagman shouted. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

There was some truth to that. Just as they did last time, dragon keepers rushed out to contain the dragon while Harry was taken away by the teachers.

"Whoever put his name in that Goblet must be feeling stupid now!" Darren said and at these words, he too took his badge off and tossed it. Ivan did the same, and so did Samaira and Katrina. Gretchen was the only one not to.

When Harry was given his score, all the judges award him nicely except Karkaroff who gave him a four.

"What is he playing at?" I asked. "They should have to judge fairly."

"Probably angry that he wasn't killed," Nick muttered in my ear.

"Guess it's over," Tasha said as everyone began to descend the bleachers. "That was amazing though. I wonder what the next task will be! It makes sense why you have to be of age though."

"Yes, I am glad we couldn't get in," Philip said. "I'd be dead right now."

"I'd be burnt to a crisp," I said.

"I'd get through, I am just so amazing," Nick said grinning and when everyone looked at him he shrugged. "What? Someone needs to have confidence."

"You'd have wet yourself the moment you saw the dragon," I said. "Especially if it was the Horntail."

"You'd have fainted," Nick retorted.

"Better that than wetting myself in front of the whole school," I said laughing.

"But you'd be dragon food right now," he said.

"Better than wetting myself," I repeated.

"You're a git," he said.

"You're a prat," I laughed.

"You're both idiots!" Tasha said and she put her arms around us as we got to the ground. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"No choice by this point," I said.

Around us, people were taking bets that Harry would win. I couldn't help but laugh at this. They'd all been against him, and now they thought he'd win. Harry was probably just glad that people would leave him alone for then on.

Shortly after the task, it became clear why it would be worth it to stay for Christmas and why we needed dress robes. There was going to be a Yule Ball taking place Christmas night. The problem was, it was for fourth years and older. So our only chances of going were if we could convince older students to take us, or if we could find girls in fourth year or older as dates.

"No chance an older girl will want us," Nick said.

But I didn't take that attitude. I'd been told for the last two years that girls fancied me, even older ones. So perhaps I had a chance after all. It wouldn't hurt to try, and the worst that would happen was they'd say no. I told Nick this, but he just shrugged and mumbled something indistinctly. I had my eye on a pretty girl with dark hair and dark eyes in Ravenclaw fourth year. The only problem was that she was always surrounded by other girls. Perhaps that was why Nick was so nervous.

Finally though, I found her on her own by the notice board one morning. I hurried over to her.

"Hi," I said to her with a smile. "I'm Barry Hoofer. I wondered-" I hesitated as she looked at me but I told myself to keep going. If she said no, I could avoid her. "I wondered if you'd like to go to the ball with me?"

I tensed up waiting to run… or something. She grinned at me looking even more pretty. I wasn't sure what it was, but I liked girls with brown or black hair and brown eyes. Most of the boys in my dorm liked blonds. Though I couldn't deny that Fleur was gorgeous, but if I had my choice, it would always be girls like this one or Olivia.

"Sure," she said happily. "I'm Lisa Turpin. I take it you'd really like to go the ball? I haven't been asked yet, and I'm not sure if I would be."

"That's not the only reason," I said as I felt my cheeks warms up. "I mean, of course it was part of it but… well, you are very pretty."

"You are so cute," she said giggling. "Yes, of course I'll go with you Barry. I've always thought you were cute."

"You have? You know me?" I asked.

"Well, I've seen you in the common room and I talk to Tasha sometimes," she said. "I even told her that I thought you were cute last year. I also think it's really great that you came over to ask me out. Confidence is attractive you know."

"Well, I was actually really nervous," I admitted.

I had a bit of deja-vu and I thought back to the year before when I had a similar conversation with Olivia.

"I could tell, but it still takes confidence to ask a girl out, especially one you don't know Barry," she said to me and then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "I look forward to going to the ball with you."

"I might be pressing it, but do you know anyone who might go with my friend Nick? He's nervous about asking a girl," I said. I hoped this wouldn't make him angry with me. I wanted to help him though and I knew he wouldn't do it on his own.

"Maybe my friend Meagan. She's worried no one will ask her. She's very shy and so she doesn't talk much, but she's rather sweet and she is pretty," Lisa responded. "I'll talk to her and I'll let you know. Nick is also really cute though, so I can't imagine her saying no. Boys don't often notice her because of how shy she is."

I thought about Tasha as well, but she'd told us she had a plan. I figured I'd leave it for now, but I really hoped she'd find someone as well. Then all three of us would be going. Now that I had a date, I definitely had to go. So I'd have to let mum and dad know I was staying for Christmas. I'd told them maybe so far.

"Want to walk down to the Great Hall together?" I asked Lisa. "We're both going anyway."

"Sure," she said. "So what's your favourite class?"

And we talked about classes and Hogwarts in general as went downstairs. It turned out she didn't know about the secret passage near our common room. She looked at me with surprise and then she smiled.

"Do you know many of them?" She asked. "I may need to hang around you more."

"I feel used," I said joking.

"You're using me for the ball, I'm using you for the castles secrets," she joked.

Just as I'd found it easy to talk to Olivia the year before, I found it easy to talk to Lisa as well. By the time we got to the Great Hall, we were talking about the Triwizard Tournament. We parted once we got to our table. She went to her fourth year friends while I joined mine.

"Who was the girl?" Philip asked the moment I sat down.

"My date for the ball," I said. "I asked her this morning. She's a fourth year."

"Lucky bloke," Ivan muttered. "She's gorgeous. You always manage to get the pretty ones."

"I've only had one girlfriend," I said.

"But all the beautiful ones fancy you," Philip said. "Can't even get any to look at me. Probably won't even be able to go."

"Just ask one," I said. "The worst they'll say is no but I've heard the girls talk about you too. You have quite a few that fancy you."

It was more that Tasha had told me this, but what did it matter? Philip sat up a little straighter at these words. Nick smirked over at me. I figured the only one out of my dorm mates who'd have problems was Darren. It wasn't that he was entirely hopeless but as Luna had said the other day that he was awkward looking. She'd said she believed he'd grow into his looks.

On the way to class later on, I admitted to Nick what I had done. I waited for him to get angry but he just smiled.

"Thanks," he said. "I wasn't sure who I'd ask and if I did, I don't know if I could. I don't mind shy girls. Samaira was a bit on the shy side. She isn't anymore, but she was. I hope she doesn't mind going with a third year."

"Lisa said she would talk to her. I don't think they care about that too much," I said. "Maybe if it's more than a year but I think right now they just want to be invited."

Nick laughed. "That makes me feel better Hoofer."

As it turned out though, Megan was more than happy to go with Nick once they met. Lisa found us outside in the court yard with Megan tagging along. She told Nick as she blushed that she'd be more than happy to go with him.

"Guess now it's your turn," I said turning to Tasha once the girls had left.

"I'm-I'm already going," she said.

"Since when?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell us? I told you right away."

I hated how she did that. Was it because she was the only girl in our group? Maybe it was hard for her to talk about this with two boys.

"Since we found out," she said. "His name is Wayne Hopkins and he's a fourth year Hufflepuff. He asked me in the library. He said he'd noticed me going there with you two and he wanted to know if I was with one of you. Of course I said no, and so he asked."

"And you didn't tell us because…?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. I still worry you two won't approve," she said.

"We will if he isn't a git," I said. "You should tell us this stuff. We're your friends."

"It's not just that, it's just embarrassing talking to you two about it. You're boys," she said confirming my suspicions. "It's not easy for me to talk to you two about boys and dating."

"Why?" Nick asked. "We know more about boys than girls would since you know, we are boys."

"Yes, but it still feels awkward," she said. "But at least we can all sit together at the ball. All three will know each other, especially Wayne and Megan."

"Are your parents disappointed that you're staying?" Nick asked me.

"No, they expected it. Benny and Brianne are really disappointed. Brianne asked me to convince Brenda to stay but I told her that this year, she's her problem," I said. "I'll be glad when she's on the train ride home. I don't have to deal with the staring. I don't understand why she still is staring."

"Probably knows it annoys you," Nick said.

"Keeps it up and I'll find a way to annoy her," I muttered. "I think Benny might me a bit angry with me too. He told me that he never sees me as it is, but I told him when he's older he'd understand. He thinks I'll miss my birthday but I told him I'll just be having it at school."

"I'll miss Christmas at your house," Tasha said.

"Not this year," I said. "Mum and dad are hosting the big dinner this year. The house will be really full this time. I'm glad I am missing it. Brenda actually wants to stay for that reason but mum and dad told her she has to come home. They said she has no reason to stay."

"Why do you hate them?" Tasha asked.

"It just gets so crowded. Remember last year at my aunts? You just can't find any peace. I hope soon we just won't have them anymore. My cousins will be having kids and it's going to be impossible. I think we still have them just because my grandparents liked them," I said.

"But don't families always get together for Christmas?" Nick asked. "Mine does."

"Yes but it gets harder when it's a big family. You don't have one and I have a million cousins who all want to do their own thing now. It made sense when we were kids. Plus we always have our New Years parties… and even last year most of my cousins didn't show up. They did their own thing. My parents and my aunts and uncles just need to accept that we're growing up and they need to do their own thing. I mean, when I'm finally old enough to be married with kids, they'll all have kids and they'll want their own Christmas. It will just be hard to fit them all in," I explained. "I like seeing my family but lately it's just a loud event that no one wants to be at."

"Makes sense I guess, but you know it will be loud at Hogwarts this year," Nick said.

"Not the same thing mate," I said. "But it will be strange being here for Christmas and I've been thinking I might stay for Easter too. My cousins have told me by third year the homework piles right up and it's better to have access to the library. They started saying for Easter in third year. So the kids aren't too happy about that either."

Nick shrugged. "They'll get over it. I think I'll stay too then. I heard it's fun because you have all this free time and the castle to yourself."

"You going to stay too then?" I asked Tasha.

"Well obviously," she said. "I'm not going home."

"You're welcome to go to my place. You know that," I said.

"Not without you," she said. "That would be weird. I love that your parents allow me to visit, but they aren't my family. I expected to be here on the holidays back in first year, so I don't mind this year. It could even be fun. Maybe over the holidays we'll even get closer to the foreign kids."

So far we hadn't and they had no interest in anyone younger than sixth year it seemed. I wasn't even sure what we'd talk about anyway. It was easy to talk to people Chester and Ralph's year but I'd known them for years now. The foreign kids seemed so much older even if they were the same ages. The Durmstrang students seemed more intimidating than the french ones. I knew several of the boys in my house had already tried asked the french girls out, but not too many of them had success. A boy named Rogers Davies got a date with the hot french girl. He was in the sixth year. I hadn't really talked to him before, but I knew he was our Quidditch captain. The year before he'd handed me a drink. I knew a lot of people, including my cousins were upset by this.

Philip and Kevin managed to get dates with a couple fifth year girls which surprised us all, so they were staying. So were Katrina and Samaira. Luna, Gretchen, Ivan and Darren were all going home. I'd hoped that Philip and Kevin would be going too, but no such luck. I had no problems with them of course, but it would have been nice to have the dorm basically to myself.

Instead, when the term ended, the common room still seemed as full as usual. The first and second years were all gone, but that hardly made a difference. Everyone was a lot more excited than usual as well. There were no classes, no one had to be up early and Christmas, the Yule Ball, and New Years was coming up.

The third years, and my cousins decided that I needed a birthday party as well. The other Ravenclaws joined in, but I doubted they cared whose birthday it was. They just liked having an excuse to have a party. Chester decided I was old enough to have my first shot of Firewhiskey that night. It burnt as it went down, and I felt warm instantly.

"Come on, let me have some too," Nick begged. "It's Christmas soon."

"When you're fourteen," Chester said.

"That's in less than two months," Nick said. "Go on."

"Whatever, just let him," Ralph said. "It's the holidays and it doesn't make much difference by this point," and then he looked at Tasha. "But none for you."

She shrugged. "I don't want any anyway," she replied. "I hope you two aren't going to get sloshed."

"Why?" I asked. "No classes for a while. We can sleep all day tomorrow if we'd like."

"Well, just better hope you're not puking," she said. "I'll stick to the pumpkin juice drink."

"You know you can get drunk and hung-over from pumpkin juice and rum," I told her. "Remember last year?"

"I know, but it's quicker with Firewhiskey," Tasha said.

"We aren't letting them take shot after shot," Ralph told her and he put an arm around her. "Relax and just have a good time little Natasha."

"Don't call me Natasha," she said.

"Maybe a shot will help you relax," Chester said.

"No," she said smiling. "I'm good, just don't call me Natasha. I do know some good hexes."

"Gee, now I'm scared," Ralph said laughing. "Better not tease her Chester. She knows some good hexes."

"She's not bad at duelling," Nick said. "You might want to watch out.

They just laughed and walked off. I felt that this was one of my better birthdays, even if I wasn't with my family. Perhaps it was because it was one big party with no adults watching our every move. That wasn't to say I didn't enjoy it with my family, but I just felt that this was the best one so far. I went to bed that night with a huge smile on my face.


	18. Third Year Part Six

Christmas morning I was woken by excited shouts about presents. I felt a little irritated at first since I wanted to sleep in, but I forgot about it as soon as I saw my own pile by my bed. I began tearing through everything excitedly. It seemed to be a good haul that year, even Benny's gift which he'd bought a Ravenclaw quill for me. However, given the letter that accompanied it, he still wasn't happy with me.

Barry. You're lucky I love you enough to give you a gift. You still should have come home for a few days, even if you have a date for your ball tonight. I miss you so much and I want to see you! Brenda has been so much meaner! I know you're probably thinking that's impossible. She's baby-sitting too with you gone, and she is so bossy. She locked me in my room for no reason. I was playing in my room and she locked the door somehow! I don't know how she did it since the lock inside. Mum and dad were angry with her too. Brianne said she got another spanking! I thought 12 was too old for spankings! I haven't had one for 2 years and Brianne said she hasn't in 3! I can't until I am old enough for her to leave me alone. Once I am her age I bet she can't tell me what to do. By the way you won't even see me being 8! Brianne said that 8 years old is the last year that a person is a little kid years ago when she was 8! That means this is the last year for me. You won't ever see me as a little kid again just because you're at school! Shouldn't you want to see me as a little kid one last time? Next September I will be a big kid and I will be the only kid at home! That means in the summer you have to see me as much as possible! Well, Merry Christmas. I bought this quill for you when mum and dad needed more parchment. I hope you like it even if you are at school instead of with me. I'm sending pictures later so you can see me when I'm still a little kid at Christmas ok? I'm sending some of Brianne too because soon she'll be 11! You're missing Christmas when she is 10! I'm not sending any pictures of Brenda though. Ask mum and dad if you want some.

I chucked as I read through the letter a couple of times. He was a funny kid. I did wonder what was going on with Brenda though. How had she locked that door and how was she reacting to another spanking? This time last year she'd had a temper tantrum over it. Surely she wasn't too happy, and as I looked through my gifts I realized she hadn't even given me one that year.

"What were you laughing at?" Nick asked as he sat on my bed with a box of Every Flavour Beans.

"Benny's letter," I said and I handed it over to him.

Nick read through it and grinned as he got to the bottom.

"Last year of being a little kid… your siblings certainly make a big deal over their ages, don't they?" He observed.

"I think most kids do," I said. "I remember thinking the same thing at his age though. For some reason nine or ten seem to be the magical age where you're all grown up. I dunno why that is. I think it was ten for me and it was because I was excited to be in the double digits."

"I didn't make a big deal until my eleventh," Nick replied. "Before that, it just seemed time took too long."

"You made a big deal about thirteen last year," I reminded him.

"Yes but that's because becoming a teenager is important," Nick replied. "Next important age is seventeen when we are of age," and then he lowered his voice as our dorm mates walked by talking excitedly about their gifts and the Yule Ball later. "But Brenda is still getting spanked? Didn't she kick you last year when it happened? Think she is angry about it again."

"Oh more than likely," I said without hesitation. "But she has that punching bag now," when the boys were gone, I stood up and pulled out a new outfit my parents had sent. It was perfect to wear for the day. It was a Ravenclaw jumper and a pair of jeans. Mum was always buying us Ravenclaw clothing.

"I wonder if they'll still be doing it when she is seventeen," I said as I pulled the jumper on. "I'll write Brianne later to see what exactly happened. Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's get breakfast. I hope today goes by quickly."

"I'm nervous about it. I've never danced with a girl," Nick said as he put the box of beans in his trunk, and then dressed quickly. "What if I step on her feet or I do it all wrong?"

"No one will be an expert," I told him. "I just want things to go well tonight. I want to dance with more than one girl too. I hope that doesn't bother Lisa. I heard Ginny Weasley is going."

"Not that surprising. She's so hot and I wonder of Hermione Granger will dance with me?" Nick said. "Wonder who she is going with."

"Maybe she isn't," I said. "Maybe she will stay and do homework instead."

"She'll be done already," Nick said. "Well, I'm gonna try and dance with her."

"I bet you won't. You were too scared to ask a girl out," I said.

"Not tonight," Nick said.

I decided not to say anything but I highly doubted he would. I did worry about Lisa though. We were going together, so would it offend her if I tried to dance with other girls? Did you have to stay with just the one you went with? How did dances work anyway? Why didn't they ever teach us this stuff? Would other girls even want to dance with me? What about the french girls?

Tasha got ready super early that night. I was surprised because how much time do you need? In our dorm, we got ready just a half hour before. I had Ravenclaw blue robes that dad had found. I'd almost just gone with black but dad thought black was ordinary like school robes. I thought it was cliche to go with my house colours for my robes, but I didn't fight him on it, especially since Tasha had told me I'd looked dashing when I'd tried them on for her later on. So perhaps dad knew what he was talking about after all.

I went down to the common room to find Lisa already waiting for me. I'd expected to wait for her but maybe she'd gotten ready early just like Tasha had. Lisa had Ravenclaw blue robes as well. She wore blue dangle earrings, a silver necklace with a blue jewel on it, and she had her brown hair up with a blue clip. I liked the fact that we matched even though I would never admit it. She was breathtakingly beautiful and I didn't understand how I'd managed to get so lucky.

"You are absolutely stunning," I told her one I'd reached her.

"Thank you. Look, we match! You are very handsome Barry. You look older too," she said.

"Well, I did just have my birthday," I told her.

"Yes, but you look like you could even be sixteen instead of fourteen," she said. "You really do look good and I bet everyone is going to be jealous of my date."

I was thinking the same thing. I just grinned and then took her hand. Did I really look sixteen? Someone would have to take my picture perhaps so I could see. Maybe I could ask Tasha later what she thought. I didn't see her anywhere.

"Is Nick going to meet Meghan in the Entrance Hall?" Lisa asked as we left.

"Yes, he was just fixing his hair when I left," I told her. "He can't get it to lay down flat for some reason and he was getting panicky. Never thought I'd see him care so much about his appearance."

"Well, Meghan won't care if it does stick up. She thinks he is very cute. Wonder why it won't stay down. Does he always have that problem?"

"No, it just happened tonight for some reason. Maybe magic can do that to you from nerves?"

"Maybe," Lisa replied with a small shrug. "So, I hope you don't take this the wrong way but there are some boys in my year I want to dance with too. We'll dance the most, but they've asked too. It won't mean I am ditching you."

"I was going to bring the same thing up to you," I said with amusement. "I worried you'd be offended. I dunno how this kind of thing works and if you're allowed to dance with other people or just the same person or what."

"Depends on the person you're going with," Lisa said. "Some people probably don't like it but it's not like you and me are serious right?"

"Right," I agreed. "And we can still get to know each other because we're eating together first. Then we are dancing but just so you know, I've danced. So I might be bad at it."

"Me too. Hogwarts has never had a dance. I danced once when I went to a wedding when I was a little girl but that's it. It doesn't count so this my first real time too! I'm sure we'll be fine and no one else will be good either," Lisa said. "The boys in my year are worrying about that too. Michael Corner is worried he'll step on his dates toes."

"Me too," I admitted.

We talked about it all the way down to the Entrance Hall. It seemed even the boys in sixth and seventh year were worried too! So it was a normal thing to worry about. Maybe even adults got worried about that too.

I'd also heard many times from older students, and even my dad that girls like confident. That could be true but I was starting to find out that they appreciated honesty as well. Both Olivia and Lisa seemed to like it when I admitted I was nervous instead of getting turned off by it. In fact, it seemed to make them more comfortable, so I must have been on to something by telling the girls the truth.

Down in the Entrance Hall it was to find that it was already packed. Lisa saw a few of her friends and waved to them. A couple girls walked over to us smiling. Once they reached her, they complimented her and then grinned at me. Meghan joined us moments later in a pair of pink dress robes. She looked quite nice too. In fact, all the girls did. I was so used to seeing them all in just Hogwarts robes. A lot of blokes were staring around at them all. It put me in mind of my pool party when we'd seen the girls in bikinis for the first time.

"Where is Nick?" Meghan asked as she tugged at the neck of her dress robes.

"He was fixing his hair when I left," I told her. "He should be here soon."

"I'm here," I heard from behind.

Nick was grinning at us, but his hair was still sticking up a little. He gave Meghan a small smile.

"I couldn't get it to lie flat," he told her with a small shrug.

Meghan giggle and then reached into the small bag she had and pulled out her wand. She tapped his head murmuring something, and it suddenly laid flat.

"My hair is frizzy in the summer," she told him in explanation when his eyes widened. "It doesn't always work but most of the time it does. I once asked Hermione Granger if I could do it to her hair, but she just glared at me. I wonder who she is coming with," she added to Lisa who shrugged. "Well, I heard Ron Weasley asking her. I thought for sure those two would come together."

"Or her and Harry," Lisa said. "Didn't Rita write that they are together? I've always thought those two would have a love triangle."

"Harry is coming with Parvati Patil," one of the girls said. "And Ron is coming with Padma. Padma isn't too sure of him but no one has asked her, so she said yes," and then she turned to Nick and me. "I'm Mandy, you must be Barry and Nick."

The other girls introduced themselves as Su and Isobel. They continued to gossip. While Lisa was distracted, I looked around to see if I could see Tasha anywhere. As I did this, Nick nudged me and pointed to our left. I looked thinking it was Tasha he'd seen, but instead I saw Harry Potter and Ron Weasley with their dates.

"Look at Weasley's robes," he said laughing.

"Ooh Padma doesn't look too happy," Lisa said noticing this and she giggled.

He was wearing maroon dress robes but they looked… well, old fashioned and kind of like a dress. I expected his parents couldn't afford any better. He didn't look too happy, and one of the girls (who appeared to be twins) didn't look too happy. The other one who I assumed to be Parvati stood with Harry beaming as she looked around.

"They don't have a lot of money," someone said. "It's not really right to laugh at him.

I turned to see that it was Tasha and some bloke. They too were staring over at the foursome. I however stared at Tasha in surprise. She was wearing emerald green robes with her hair up. A green ribbon was woven through it. She had earrings that were green as well. She'd also done her face up. She was always pretty of course, but she looked prettier and more grown up. She grinned when my eyes fell on her. For some reason I felt butterflies in my stomach as she did this.

"Oh we know," I heard Lisa say and I snapped out of it. "The Weasley's are very nice, but it's still hard not to laugh. You look very beautiful Tasha."

"You do too," Tasha said to her. "Ooh I can't wait to get in there. I don't even want to eat. I just want to dance."

"Me too," Meghan said excitedly.

The girls began talking excitedly again, while Nick, Wayne and I stood there. Finally, Wayne held his hand out to me and introduced himself, and then he shook hands with Nick.

"Tasha told me you two might act like, well big brothers," he said. "I assure you that I will treat her well tonight."

"I feel like I am being introduced to a younger sisters boyfriend," Nick said with a grin. "I trust you. You seem like a nice bloke."

"Yes, you do," I said and he did but for some reason I didn't want him with her. I couldn't explain it.

They were just dancing together, but the thought of them dancing, holding hands or even worse, kissing made me feel sick. I told myself I'd feel the same way if it was Brenda and some bloke. It was just because I was worried about her.

"So are we all going to sit together then?" Nick asked. "Doors should be opening any moment."

"Is that Hermione Granger?" Lisa asked as her eyes widened.

"She's with Krum!" Isobel said. "What does he see in her."

As she walked by, I could see exactly what Viktor Krum saw in her. She was beautiful. How was that these girls could surprise us this way? One moment they were normal looking and the next they took our breaths away. It didn't even look like the same frizzy haired girl who usually walked around with a bulging bag of books. Most of the girls looked unhappy as they all watched them walk by. The rest of the champions went with them.

"Look at Ron!" Tasha said. "He looks angry."

I thought maybe he was jealous. Perhaps he fancied her after all. A lot of people thought he might. Finally, the doors to the Great Hall opened. Everyone went inside to find that the normal house tables were gone. There were a lot of smaller circular tables instead. My group which included Lisa's friends went straight for a table in the middle.

After everyone was seated, the champions all came in with their dates.

"How do we eat?" Isobel asked.

"Well there are menus," Nick said as he picked one up. "Guess we order off them?"

"But there are no waiters or waitresses," Meghan said.

"Maybe we can just say what we want and it appears?" Wayne said. "Won't hurt to try."

I saw a chicken meal, so I announced I wanted that I wanted it. Moments later, it appeared on my plate. The others began ordering as well. While we ate, the talk turned to the next task for the tournament. Many wondered what would be next and who would win. Meghan and Wayne wanted Cedric of course, but the rest of us were divided. Some of us, like me wanted Harry to win. Everyone agreed that it needed to be a Hogwarts win at least.

When the meal was over, the champions led the dancing, but soon enough, we were all able to go out as well. For the first few songs, Lisa and I stuck together but then one of the boys from her year wanted a dance, so I looked around for someone else while I waited. I saw Ginny on her own, so I hurried over to her.

"Having a good time?" I asked her as we danced. "You came with Neville Longbottom, didn't you? Where is he?"

"Dancing with Lavender," she answered. "It's okay, but he is kind of clumsy. My feet are going to be sore tomorrow," she said with a grin. "I notice Harry isn't even dancing at all."

"Looks like your brother isn't either," I said looking in the direction she was.

"I think Ron is realizing that he wishes he came with Hermione," Ginny replied. "So who did you come with?"

"Lisa Turpin," I answered. "She's a fourth year in my house. I didn't even know her until I asked. I just wanted to go with someone so I could come. She was happy to bring me along. Nick and Tasha did the same. I'm surprised you came with Neville though."

"I wouldn't have anyone else to come with," Ginny answered. "No one else wanted to come with me and Ron tried to set me up with Harry, but Neville had already asked me."

"I'm surprised you didn't have more blokes ask," I said. "A pretty girl like you? I'm sure Harry wishes he could have come with you."

Ginny shook her head looking sad. "No, he never wanted to come with me. He wanted to come with Cho Chang but Cedric Diggory asked her. He thought he had no one else. Ron just told him to come with me so I'd have a date," and she sighed. "He'll never notice me."

"Then he's an idiot," I told her.

"Well, Hermione told me I need to just move on from Harry and maybe try to act like myself around him when I can. I get so shy around him and I can't speak, so it's not really his fault that he doesn't notice me. I'm just Ron's shy little sister around him," Ginny responded. "That's what tonight is all about. Neville and I came together, but I plan to meet more blokes."

"I have a hard time seeing you as shy," I said to her.

Anytime I'd been around her, she talked non-stop and she seemed so confident. She just smiled and shrugged.

"He's Harry Potter," she said. "And I made a fool out of myself the first time I met him. I shouted like a stupid little fan girl, and then one morning he was there in my kitchen and I was in my pajamas. It was so off-putting to have this famous kid in my house like that. Then as you know, he saved my life. To him I am probably this little fan girl who is also a damsel in distress. Look what I did in our first year."

"That wasn't your fault," I said firmly. "I don't know everything about it, but I know enough that it wasn't your fault. Maybe Hermione is right though. Maybe you just need to move on and then you can be this Ginny around him. I still can't imagine you as shy."

"A lot of people say that," she said. "And I always do feel foolish around him. Honestly, my plan is to have a real boyfriend by the end of this year."

"Well, I could do the honours," I joked.

She grinned at me. "You're joking, but I might consider it. Unless you're not interested of course."

"I should actually see how things with Lisa will turn out first, but if not, we could just hang out on a weekend Ginny," I told her. "I was joking, but you are a nice girl, you're easy to get along with and you are very pretty."

She laughed. "Oh I see how you choose girls now. It makes sense why you picked Mad Olivia last year."

"Mad Olivia?" I asked. "I've never heard anyone call her that."

"It's mainly blokes who call her that. She gets all weird with them. I saw Ron staring at her a few weeks ago, and I told him to stay away from her. I told her what happened with you last year," she answered.

"You know about that?" I asked with shock. I'd only told the Ravenclaws about it.

"It got around. Most people know about that and they often tease her about it," Ginny said. "I told Ron she'd get jealous of him and me. He lost interest right away."

We danced a couple of more songs, but then a boy in my house, who I believed was a fourth year came over to ask her for a dance.

"I'll talk to you later Barry," she said to me with a small wave.

I looked around for Lisa. She was dancing with a fifth year Hufflepuff, so I went looking for other girls I knew or who were alone. I saw some of my fellow third years, so I asked some of them to dance. At one point, I saw Tasha sitting off to the side and rubbing her right calf.

"Where is Wayne?" I asked as I took a chair beside her.

"Dancing with Meghan," she said. "You know, I think those two actually fancy each other."

"So where is Nick then?" I asked.

"Dancing with Su," she replied. "You know, I think he likes the Asian girls. First Samaira and now Su. Maybe it was him who actually liked Cho Chang last year."

"Well, I liked her too. I don't mind admitting it now. She's very pretty," I admitted. "I think she is happy with Diggory though," I added as I saw the two of them dancing closely. "A lot of blokes fancy her it seems. Harry wanted to bring her instead of Ginny Weasley."

"I saw you two dancing. You were together a while," Tasha said.

I told her our conversation. She grinned and then rolled her eyes.

"So, do you want to dance with me or are friends off limits?" Tasha asked. "I noticed you making your way through all those girls."

"I'll dance with you anytime Tasha," I said. "I never told you but you do look very beautiful tonight. Not that you never do, but you certainly are exceptional tonight."

"I've had many compliments," she said. "It's been a bit odd. All these boys who never paid attention are now."

I felt angry when she said this but I didn't know why. I just shrugged, stood up and then held my hand out for her to take. She grinned and jumped up excitedly. I wondered why Hogwarts didn't have more dances. This night had been a lot of fun so far.


	19. Third Year Part Seven

Thanks to the older students, I was able to get some pictures to send to my family. They'd taken them for themselves, and since I was Ralph and Chester's cousin, they were more than happy to duplicate some for my friends and me too. Someone had even managed to take a picture of Lisa and me dancing. I thought we looked good together, but unfortunately for me, she'd met a fifth year Hufflepuff boy that she liked better.

She apologized to me and she told me she felt bad, but I'd told her that I hadn't had high expectations from our date. This was a lie. I'd hoped that we would get to know each other really well, and I'd get a new girlfriend. I wasn't going to mope around about it though. There would be other girls, and I'd met several girls at the Yule Ball. I'd also gotten to know Ginny Weasley better. She did say we'd hang out some weekend if I wanted.

"We all lost our dates," Tasha said with a smile a couple days later. We were in the common room and relaxing. "What I find odd is that Wayne and Meghan are in the same house and year, but it took the Yule Ball for them to realize they liked each other."

"Maybe they got jealous," Nick replied with a shrug. "Didn't that happen with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Maybe it takes dating for people to realize they like each other. I wasn't really all that sold on Meghan anyway. I mean she was nice and pretty, but I didn't feel anything for her. I just wanted a date, and I doubt you're all that upset about Lisa either, mate," he added to me.

"No not really, and it proved I can get a girl to go on a date with me," I said. "Remember what we promised each other last year? If we like girls, we'll go for it? We'll just do that and there were a lot of nice girls at the Yule Ball."

"Well, I am disappointed," Tasha said. "I thought maybe Wayne would be someone I could get to know better. I did meet other blokes too though. So maybe someone else will ask me out."

"I'm just glad you've gotten past this: 'you're too young to date,' thing," Nick said with amusement.

"Well, I don't feel that way anyway and I've realized that I am wrong," Tasha said.

"Too bad that's the only thing you've realized," Nick said. "Same with you," he added to me and then he stretched and stood up.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm not saying a word. Both of you will realize it someday. I'm going to go down to Hagrids. I promised I would. Are you two going to join me?"

"No, I am going to stay up here," I said. "It's horrible out there and I want to stay warm. I dunno why you'd want to go out in that," I added as I looked out the window. Usually you could see the mountains it was a white-out out there. "I mean, I like Hagrid but not that much."

"I haven't been down to visit him yet," Nick said. "Tasha?"

"No, are you mad?" Tasha asked. "Why don't you just wait until it stops? I'd love to see Hagrid, but not in this!"

"I'll be fine," he said. "I do need to talk to him about something anyway."

"About what?" Tasha asked.

"Just something," he replied.

"What are you keeping from us?" I demanded. "We've always promised no secrets."

"It's not really anything I am keeping from you exactly," he said. "It's about my parents and well… it's what he knows already," and looking annoyed when we kept staring, he sighed. "They're just thinking of having another baby and I am not sure if I am okay with it. Hagrid knows about it. I'll talk to you two later."

"But-" Tasha began, but Nick was already walking away.

"Another baby?" I said once he'd reached the door. "But they'd have a fourteen year age difference. Aren't they too old?"

"I think they're just in their thirties," Tasha said with a shrug. "But I do wonder why he kept that from us and not Hagrid. He looked a bit worried, don't you think?"

"He did. It's odd he just brought it up now. Do you think they just wrote him about it? He wants to walk all the way to Hagrids in this to talk about it," I said.

"Maybe he isn't really going to Hagrids," Tasha said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe he is meeting another girl after all. It just seems odd that he is walking down to Hagrids in this weather just to talk about that," Tasha said. "He has never been secretive. I think he made that up on the spot. I bet he expected us to say no because… well, look at it out there!"

I glanced out the window again. Tasha could have been onto something. She was right when she said that Nick never kept secrets. It was usually her who kept the secrets, and sometimes even me. As far as I knew, Nick told us everything. He even told me things that I really didn't need to know. Why was he suddenly embarrassed about having a girlfriend now though? He'd been open about Samaira the year before. We all knew about his crush on Hermione Granger.

"Do you think it has to do with what he just said to us?" Tasha asked interrupting my thoughts.

"What he just said to us?" I asked confused.

"That we'll realize something someday," Tasha explained.

"Oh, that. No, people have said that to me before. I have no idea what that means," I replied.

"People have said it to me too," Tasha said. "In fact, Luna said it to me right before she left for the holidays. I wish people would just tell us. I tried getting it from her, but she told me that it's up to me to figure it out. She said it wouldn't be right for her to tell me, and that it's better for people to come to terms with it on her own."

"Well, it is Luna we're talking about," I said. "We all know she is mad."

"But I really don't think she is," Tasha said. "I know she often repeats mad things her father tells her, and she believes that magazine but I think she is the smartest out of all of us."

"She is very smart for sure," I agreed. "I've never believed she wasn't. It's almost like Dumbledore isn't it? He's one of cleverest wizards but a lot of people believe he is mad. Luna is observant. It's what makes her so good at Divination. She can read people, and that's one of the skills you need for the class. It's not just being a seer."

"So she might know something we don't," Tasha said. "I wish people wouldn't call her mad. I'd call her open-minded but not mad. She is a very nice girl and what my grandmother would call a pure soul. It's not right people make fun of her."

"But what could she know?" I asked.

"I suppose we just have to figure it out," Tasha said. "But I do hope Nick tells us what is going on too. I hate secrets."

"Well, now we know how we feel when you do it to us," I told her. "If we can't tell each other things then who can we trust?"

"I only do it when it comes to boys," Tasha said. "You two know everything else and it's because I get nervous about that kind of thing. I trust you two, but think if you're two best friends were girls instead of a girl and a boy. I bet you tell Nick certain things more than me. I love you two, but there are some things girls can't discuss with boys just like there are some things that boys can't discuss with girls."

"There is truth to that," I said. "But what is Nick's excuse?"

"He must have a good reason," Tasha said. "We'll let him come to us. In the meantime, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know," I answered with a smile. "It's so warm and cozy in here. I don't want to leave because the corridors are always so drafty. I'm not in the mood for homework, but I am caught up anyway. I'm in one of those lazy moods where I just want to sit here."

"Same here," Tasha said grinning back at me. "I didn't even want to get out of bed today. When I was still at home, mum would bring me hot chocolate in bed on days like this. We'd sit in my bed and eat crackers, drink hot chocolate and read together."

"Do you think your parents ever miss any of that?" I asked.

I never used to bring up her situation much because I worried I'd make her cry. Lately, it seemed she could talk about it more and more without crying. I knew she'd never get over it completely, no one could ever get over that, but it seemed to be getting easier for her. Her eyes weren't shining at the moment, so I took it as a good sign that I could ask her.

"Yes, I believe they do," she said. "At times I'll look at them and see them staring at me. Sometimes I hope that I'll come home in the summer, and they'll finally hug and kiss me again. They'll apologize for the lost years and we'll be a normal family again."

"And if that doesn't happen?" I asked.

"Then it's their loss," Tasha answered. "They're missing out on a great kid. Someday I'll have kids of my own and they won't have the chance to know them. I know this though, no matter what, I will never ignore my children. It doesn't matter how they turn out. I will always love them. I will never let a child feel how I've felt."

"Same here," I said. "I mean, obviously I don't know how you feel but I've seen how it has affected you. I don't care if I have a child like Brenda, I will never let my kid feel unloved. Would you ever expect an apology if they do come to their senses?"

"No," Tasha said quickly. "I'll just be happy no matter what. I don't need apologies. I just need love."

I didn't say anything to that, but I thought she had low expectations and I thought that was very sad. I really hoped someday she'd get the family she needed and deserved. I'd make sure I'd be there for her no matter what. I'd still be friends with her even after Hogwarts. She'd have a family with mine even when we were grown up.

Term started and Nick was still secretive with us. He still disappeared which made me think that Tasha was right. He had a secret girlfriend and for some reason he didn't want to tell us about her. We'd both decided not to press the issue though. I did feel hurt that he didn't want to tell us, but he must have had his reasons for it.

In the meantime, when I wasn't spending time with Tasha, I was looking for girls that I could possibly take to the next Hogsmeade visit or even the next Tri-Wizard task which was coming up quickly. Benny and Brianne were writing to me more than usual to find out what was going to happen. They were pleased with the pictures I'd sent home, and they wanted more. Neither would listen when I told them that we had no idea what the task would be. Why would I lie? I asked in the last letter. They should know I'd tell them, especially since I hated having the same question asked over and over again.

"It's because they're annoying little brats," Brenda told me with irritation when I brought this up to her during one of our study sessions.

"I think it's just they're curious," I said to her. "Speaking of which, didn't I tell you to stop being mean to them? Why would you lock Benny in his room?"

"Because he's being annoying with this: 'It's the last year I'm a little kid,' phase he is going through. He wouldn't stop bothering me," she responded.

"But he said you did it when he was in there playing," I said. "He said you just did it for no reason."

"Because I knew he probably would soon," Brenda replied. "It was so annoying listening to him go on and on about it. He wouldn't stop telling us how you should have come home too so that you'd see him as a little kid one last time. Brianne wouldn't stop going on about how this was her last Christmas before she started school."

"You were the same way," I said.

I felt like I'd told her this a million times. She'd gone through the: 'I'm not a little kid anymore,' phase as well. We all went through that. I was sure that most kids did, but for some reason it annoyed her. She'd also been annoying about the fact that she was about to start Hogwarts as well. I was so tired of her treating then like nuisances for doing what all kids did. I said this to her and she just glared.

"Don't you think it's time to stop all that?" I asked. "You keep insisting that you hate spankings, and yet they keep happening because of all this."

"Mum had better not do it again!" Brenda said furiously. "I will be thirteen in April. If she does it again I am telling someone! It's abuse!"

"Oh shut up!" I said angrily. "That is not abuse. Abuse is ignoring your child. Abuse is neglect or hurting them for no reason. You've deserved every spanking!"

"Not at my age!" Brenda said furiously. "I'm almost a teenager and so I should be treated that way!"

"Then act like it. You can't just say something is abuse when you don't like it," I said. "They do it because they've tried everything else to get through to you. I am also willing to bet that you used magic to lock Benny in his room because the door can't lock from the outside, and he had trouble getting out."

"Well… maybe I did," she said.

"We aren't supposed to do underage magic," I told her. "So not only did you do magic that you weren't supposed to do, but you locked him up for no reason. He'll grow out of that phase. I remember you around that age, and you kept insisting we all stop treating you like a little kid. I did the same, and so did Brianne. Now it's Benny's turn. You can't get angry with them for doing that kids do. I really hope you never have kids."

"My kids won't act like that," she said.

"I worry for them if they do," I retorted. "I could see you being like Tasha's parents."

Brenda's mouth dropped open when I said that and then she closed it, and narrowed her eyes at me.

"How dare you!? You know, what stay away from me for a while. I can't believe you would ever accuse me of that! I don't care what my child does, I would never abandon them!"

She collected her books together and got up quickly. She walked off without giving me a backwards glance. Perhaps I was a little harsh, but I didn't know if I was that far off. She was still young of course, but the way she treated Benny and Brianne did worry me at times. Hopefully she would grow out of it.

I hadn't been keeping up with the news since I had other things on my mind, but one entrance after classes, I found Nick and Tasha whispering together in the Entrance Hall looking worried.

"What's going on?" I asked when I approached them.

"Hagrid," Nick said.

"What about him?" I asked.

"You haven't heard?" Tasha asked.

"You know, I hate when people do that. If I'd heard then I'd be standing here with you whispering about whatever it is that you're talking about. What are you talking about?" I asked with irritation.

"Well it was in the Daily Prophet a week ago," Nick said. "Rita Skeeter wrote an article about he is a half-giant. I never knew. My parents never told me so they must not have known either. He hasn't been teaching classes and he isn't answering his door."

"We've hung out everyday and you're just telling me this now?" I asked looking at each of them. "You can hardly blame me for not knowing. Neither of you have acted odd until today. In fact," I said looking straight at Nick. "You've barely been around lately."

"Well, it's been all over the school and you've just been talking about your family, homework and girls," Tasha replied. "But you're right. I should have brought it up. I thought you knew and you just didn't bring it up."

"If I'd known I'd be talking about it with you. I haven't read the Prophet because all it's been about is the Tournament and we already know what's going on. Nothing exciting has happened so I haven't looked and I figured people would be discussing anything big. But why hasn't anyone mentioned it at dinner? Those close-minded idiots in our house are usually the first to criticize him."

"We were just talking about that," Nick said. "We're both surprised they haven't mentioned it."

"So is this why you're disappearing?" I asked Nick. "Because of Hagrid?"

"No," he said looking away.

"Can't you just tell us what is going on?" I asked him.

"Later," he said. "Right now I think we should eat and then try and talk to Hagrid, or don't you care? You haven't visited him in a while."

"Of course I care. I've been busy too. Fine, we'll eat and then we'll try and talk to him," I said. "I dunno why you're getting defensive with me or why we're keeping secrets lately though."

Nick just shrugged and looked down at his feet. I looked at Tasha who just raised her eyebrows at me.

We ate our dinner quickly and then went up to the common room to put on our winter cloaks. Afterwards, we hurried outside and down to Hagrids cabin. He was home. We could see the lights on and smoke coming from the chimney. Nick knocked on the door hard as soon as we reached it. We could hear fang barking and scratching but no one came to the door.

"It's Nick!" Nick shouted as he hit the door even harder, but there was still no answered.

"Let's just go," Tasha said looking at the door sadly. "He doesn't want to come out Nick, and you're going to hurt your hand."

"But we don't care that he is half-giant," Nick said looking sad as well. "He's not like a real giant is he? I know they're brutal and everything but he's one of the nicest and sensitive people we know."

"From what I've read, people are prejudice though," Tasha said as we turned from the door, and began to make our way back to the castle. "Look at Professor Lupin. Giants aren't innocent and I bet people are furious to learn this secret. It does make sense why he is so big. I've always wondered."

"Me too," Nick said. "I should ask mum and dad. I doubt they knew but I'd like to know if they did and if they did, why they didn't tell me."

"Nick," I said. "Are your parents really thinking of having another baby or did you make that up? I don't understand why you're keeping secrets from the two of us."

"That's not a lie," he said. "They've been talking about it and they want to know how I feel. I don't really care if they do. I love going to your house because of your siblings and I always wished to have a little brother or sister. I know we'll have a big age difference between us but maybe I could help him or her out."

"But that's not the reason you went to see Hagrid, if you even went at all," Tasha said. "I can't see you walking through a blizzard to talk to him. I think you lied and you knew we wouldn't go with you because of the weather."

Nick didn't answer which told us that she was right.

"Nick, what is the big deal?" I asked. "If it's a girl I don't see why you're hiding it from us."

He sighed and kicked the snow as we walked.

"I just wanted to make sure it worked first," he finally said. "I didn't want to hide it from you exactly. It's just I didn't want a lot of pressure. We've been getting to know each other. We danced a few times at the Ball and we liked each other. We decided we would keep talking to each other. She didn't want to tell anyone either. She felt the same way because she knew her girl friends would be bothering her about it as well."

"So who is it then?" Tasha asked. "Do we know her?"

Nick shrugged. "She's a second year," and though his face was already red from the cold, I thought it went even redder. "And she's a Slytherin."

"You don't think we'd judge you on that?" Tasha asked quickly. "Remember when I was worried about you two judging me?"

"I know, but people still get odd about that," Nick said with a small smile.

"Who brought her? She's a second year, but she was at the Ball?" I asked.

"I think a fourth or fifth year but as a favour," Nick said. "She just really wanted to go so he brought her but he had his own date that he was meeting there. I think he's friend with one of her older siblings. Her name is Ruby and she is really sweet. I found her sitting on her own and I asked her to dance. I just wish I could take her to Hogsmeade."

"That is too bad," I said. "Well I hope we can meet her soon, but take your time. We just wanted to know what was going on with you. I hope it works out for you mate."

"What about you? There isn't a girl that you liked from the Ball? Besides Ginny Weasley I mean," Nick said.

"There were plenty," I said. "And Ginny seems distracted. I don't want to ask her quite yet. Actually, there was a fifth year girl but I don't know if she'd want much to do with a third year."

"Just ask her," Nick said. "It won't hurt and remember we said when we liked a girl we would ask them no matter what. If she says no then there are other girls."

"I know," I said. "It's just different with a fifth year. She's almost two years older. Usually girls don't like younger blokes. We had fun dancing together but that doesn't mean anything. I had fun with Lisa too, and she met someone else."

"Just ask her to the next Hogsmeade visit," Tasha said. "What house is she in?"

"Gryffindor," I said. "I suppose I'll look around for her. You're right, I did promise I'd talk to a girl when I liked her. It's easier said than done, especially when it comes to an older girl."

"But it's like we keep saying, the worst they'll do is say no and you keep having success," Nick reminded me. "You know there are girls who like you."

I nodded but what could he know when it came to an older girl? One that was almost two years older. He'd been set up with Meghan and we had to convince him to talk to Samaira. I wasn't sure what had happened with him and this Ruby girl, but he had never been confident with girls. For me, I knew they found me cute. However, those were girls my own age or even younger. Lisa was technically my age even if she was a fourth year. There was a year and half difference between Glenda and me. She'd also asked me to dance and not the other way around. She'd caught me between dances and she'd told me that I was cute for a third year.

I did want a date to Hogsmeade though. It was fun to go with Tasha and Nick, but I wanted to start going on dates. I could go with my friends anytime. Girls were on my mind all the time, and I missed having a girlfriend. I also really liked snogging. I was starting to think I should take Ivan's advice and snog girls around the castle. Other people in our year did that. I'd actually caught a couple first years doing that. If they could do that, then I could as well. I hated to sound arrogant, but I was sure there were a lot of girls who would kiss me.

So I took my friends advice and decided to be on the look out for her for the next week. I just hoped that it wasn't last minute. I ran into Hermione a couple days later in the seventh floor corridor. She looked distracted as she was rummaging through her bag.

"Hi," I said as I approached her.

She jumped looking a little startled.

"Oh, hi Barry," she said. "Couldn't hold these for me could you?"

Without waiting for an answer, she handed me a few textbooks while she continued to look through her bag.

"Sure why not," I said. "What are you looking for? Where are Harry and Ron?"

"Probably in the common room," she replied still looking in her bag. "I'm just about to go there. I was in the library."

"Are you okay? You seem a bit off. What are you looking for?"

"Oh it's nothing," she said and then she began taking her books back. "What are you doing in this area anyway? Ravenclaw isn't near here is it?"

"Not quite," I responded. "Actually, I was hoping to run into someone I met at the Yule Ball but it hasn't been easy. I know the Gryffindor Common Room is around here somewhere."

She smiled at me knowingly now which caused me to blush. Nick had a point, she was very attractive. I hated when girls made me feel this way, and I hated the look she was giving me. It was the one Tasha or Luna often gave me. Why did people have to act this way when someone thought someone was attractive. Did I ever act this way with others?

"Well, I might know her," Hermione finally said. "If I don't then I am sure Ginny will."

"She's not a third year. She's in the fifth. It's why it's hard talking to her and maybe she won't even want to talk to me because I am a third year," I said.

"Confidence is key Barry," she said to me. "And I am sure she will. You are cute."

I felt my face redden when she said this. She beckoned for me to follow her.

"So how is Krum?" I asked decided to turn the tables on her. "Did you have fun with him at the Ball?"

"Oh yes it was a pleasant evening," she answered. Now it was her turn to blush.

"Think you will go out with him again? What about Hogsmeade?"

"Well I am going with Harry and Ron, but I expect we'll talk again," she said her face still red. "Wait here Barry. I don't want you to hear the password to the Common Room. I'll see if I can find her. What is her name?"

"Glenda. Not sure of her last name," I said.

"I haven't met her but I know some fifth years. I'll see if one of them can find her," she told me. "Good luck."

She walked off quickly and I couldn't help but laugh. That had actually been a lot of fun. Perhaps I'd do the same to Tasha or Brenda someday. As much as them dating made me feel uneasy, I knew it was going to happen someday. I could cover up my annoyance by making fun of them. I leaned against the wall thinking how I could embarrass Brenda someday when she found a bloke who actually liked her.

"Barry?" I heard.

I'd been so lost in my thoughts I hadn't noticed the beautiful blond who had shown up. She was grinning at me.

"Hermione said you were looking for me," she said.

"Oh yes, well I was," I said feeling embarrassed. "Erm… well I thought since we had fun dancing together that maybe you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me."

My face warmed up even more and this felt even more awkward than when I'd asked Lisa. Would Glenda laugh at the pathetic little third year for asking her? Glenda continued to grin at me.

"But if you don't want to-" I began.

"Shh," she said laughing. "I'll go with you. When Hermione told me you were looking for me, I didn't expect this. I wasn't sure what it was that you wanted, but of course I'll go with you. I'm sorry I didn't answer right away. I was just shocked that's all."

"Really?" I asked, it was my turn to be shocked. I moved away from the wall. "Even if I am a third year?"

"You're not that much younger then me," she responded. "You said you turned fourteen in December. I'm not sixteen until August."

"I know you told me," I said. "But I still wasn't sure but I did have fun with you so I thought I'd ask."

"Well I'd love to go with you. To be honest, I've actually been thinking about you since. I danced with other blokes that night but I kept thinking about you. I actually thought you would think I was too old, so I was trying to forget about you," Glenda replied. "And I saw you dancing with other girls so I didn't think I was memorable to you. What did make me memorable to you?"

"You weren't all giggly," I said. "We actually talked. Other then you, Ginny and Tasha, the rest were all bouncy and giggly."

"Well, I think you're a rare bloke. Most don't care about the talking part," Glenda said her smile widening even more. "When it comes to me, they don't want to get to know me. They just want a girl to snog or something or to brag that they got with. As if I am some kind of prize. You're different."

I wasn't going to admit that I was proud about that as well. Of course I wanted to get to know her, but she was gorgeous. So far I'd managed to get three beautiful girls to go out with me. All of them seemed excited that I was paying attention with them, even if one turned out to be mad and the other lost interest. Perhaps Glenda would be different. Maybe it would work out with her. If it didn't, well I knew other girls thought I was cute so I'd take Ivan's advice when it came to the random snogging. I was done being nervous about girls, and this time I meant it. If a pretty fifth year girl noticed me then I was doing something right.

"So we'll meet in the Entrance Hall?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'd love that," she told me and she leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

I couldn't wait to tell Nick and Tasha about this, and the boys in my dorm and maybe even my family. Once she was gone, I turned and ran all the way back to the Common Room.


	20. Third Year Part Eight

Saturday morning, I found Glenda waiting for me in the Entrance Hall. She was always pretty of course, but she looked even prettier that day. I thought she looked even better than she had at the Yule Ball and she'd dressed right up for that night. That day she was wearing a dress under her winter cloak. I thought she was a little crazy since it was freezing out. Her legs were going to be very cold by the time we got there.

"Hello," she greeted happily once I reached her.

"Hello," I said.

I was somewhat nervous because this was a real date compared to the Yule Ball. Lisa and I had gone together so we had people to go with this. This was a day when I'd have to impress a girl who I hoped would hang out with me again. I held my hand out to her which she took quickly.

"Don't be nervous," she said to me as we walked over to Filch. "We will have fun today and I don't have high expectations."

"What do you mean high expectations?" I asked once we reached Filch who peered closely at our faces before he checked our names off.

"You don't have to impress me," she said. "I can tell you're worrying about that. Boys usually do with me or other girls. We're just two people going to Hogsmeade to get to know each other."

"You've had other blokes try?" I asked as we made our way down the steps and into the grounds. I wasn't really sure what to say to that, and that was the first thing I thought of.

"Yes. Usually when a boy takes me out, they try hard to impress me and they aren't themselves. That's what happened at the Yule Ball. All I want is for a boy to be normal around me when we go out. Either all they want to do is snog me or else they try to be this person they aren't just so that I like them. My ex-boyfriend ended up being this completely different person when we started to hang out more. I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but I was never really happy with him."

"But I thought girls liked it when guys made an effort," I said. "My mum told me that."

"It depends," she said. "Of course it's nice to have someone make an effort but if it means you're acting like this gentlemen who does all this amazing stuff when you're not, I don't like it. Making an effort means you don't take girls for granted or you don't use us as a trophy to show off to your friends. All I want is for you to not be nervous today to the point that you aren't the real Barry Hoofer."

"Well, I think I can manage that," I finally said. "I mean, I don't think I've had that problem with other girls but then again this is a real date. With Lisa, we got along fine but we went together to have dates and Olivia well-" and then I paused. "Actually, I guess you're not supposed to talk about ex's on dates are you?"

"I'm curious," she said with a smile. "I really don't care. It's a good rule to follow but we've already broken that rule haven't we? I don't mind. I think it's the type of conversation when it comes to ex's. I imagine this isn't that kind. Go on. Tell me what you were going to tell me."

"Well okay," I said feeling uneasy but I went on and told her everything about Olivia.

"She actually got jealous of you comforting your sister?" Glenda asked with raised eyebrows. We weren't that far from the village now.

"Yes," I said. "I'd never heard of anything like that."

"Well, not all girls are mad like that. And she keeps finding boys? Maybe she'll grow up then. That story definitely trumps any of mine. I thought the boy I dated in my third year was bad, but that girl makes him seem normal," she said.

"Well, try me then. I told you my story," I said. "It's only fair I hear yours."

"Alright. It's almost similar to yours with the jealousy but not as extreme," she replied and then she went onto explain how she couldn't even talk to her male friends because he'd be breathing down her neck. He'd even once gotten jealous when she'd been asked behind by Professor Lockhart.

"And when I'd finally had enough, and I dumped him, he went on about how nice blokes always finish last and that he should have known it was too good to be true," Glenda told me. "It was as if he was the wronged one. I did try to like him, but he just wouldn't stop getting jealous. One of my best friends is a boy and so I couldn't stop hanging out with him."

"That is ridiculous," I said with a nod. "I was actually surprised she never asked me to stop hanging out with Tasha. I'm sure she would have eventually if she got jealous of my sister."

"That one still baffles me," she said. "I mean, getting jealous of a teacher was one thing, but of a sibling? Max never cared when I talked to my older brother."

"My cousin Garth thinks she didn't really care and that she was just insecure in general," I said. "But I still found it odd."

"I do too," Glenda said. "So where are we off to first?"

"Well, I am hungry," I said. "Let's get some breakfast first and then we can decide from there."

"Sounds good to me," she said. "I'm really hungry too. The Leaky Cauldron usually has a good breakfast menu."

"We noticed that when we came last time," I told her. "My friends and me did I mean."

And the day actually went really well. I had to keep reminding myself of what she'd told me. She wanted me to be myself and not to try and impress her. It was a hard thing to remember because here I was with a beautiful fifth year girl. This girl wanted to be with me, Barry Hoofer, a third year who didn't have all that much experience with girls. It didn't matter if our age difference was that much. She still had two years of school ahead of me, so that meant she had two years of dating ahead of me.

We went up to the Shrieking Shack later in the day. I was shocked to find Nick up there with a pretty dark haired girl. Why did he have a date when he liked the Ruby girl so much?

"That's my friend Nick," I told Glenda. "Mind if we talk to him for a few moments?"

"Not at all. I'd love to meet your friends," she said. "Where is your friend Tasha? Did she come with a date?"

"I think she came with a girl in our house, Luna. They get along and hang out sometimes," I said. "She never mentioned a date if she had one."

"Oh hi," Nick said with surprise when the two of us approached him. He looked at me and then at Glenda. His eyes widened when they fell on her. He hadn't met her prior to this. He looked down at her feet and then slowly looked into her face and then stared.

"Hi," I said with a little annoyance. Did he have to make his attraction so obvious.

"Hi," he repeated and he turned away. "Er- well this is Ruby. We thought we'd check out the Shrieking Shack you know."

"Ruby?" I said with surprise. "But she's- I thought you said she's second year."

"She is," he said.

"I snuck in," Ruby said speaking the obvious. "I really wanted a date to Hogsmeade."

"Which passage did you use?" Glenda asked sounding amused. "I'm Glenda by the way. Barry forgot to introduce me because he was surprised to see you here."

"I'm sorry," I said turning to her. "I should have introduced you. I meant to but-"

"But you saw young Ruby here," she said smiling at me. "I don't really care," and then she looked back at Ruby who was eyeing her nervously. "Don't worry. My friends and I used to sneak into Hogsmeade all the time in our first and second year. I would never tell on you."

"You did?" I asked her. "What passages did you use?"

"Ooh is prefect Barry going to sneak it?" Nick asked confident again. "I never would have suspected it. He wants to be prefect," he added to Glenda.

"He told me," she said with a shrug. "I don't care. It's something that never suited me but my best friend is a prefect, and he did sneak it with us," she added to me with a grin.

"There's a statue," Ruby said in a small voice. "It's on the third floor. My older brother told me about it."

"Ooh yes, that's the one we used as well," Glenda said happily. "And it leads to the Honeydukes cellar. My older brother told me about it as well."

"Well that's great," I said and then turned to Nick. "Think of what we could do with that. Especially with our potion. We should try it sometime."

"Your potion?" Glenda asked.

I explained to her about the aging potion I'd made so we could try and get our names in the Goblet of Fire. We still had it in our trunks.

"I thought about giving some to her," Nick added on as he glanced over at Ruby. "But I figured the shop owners wouldn't care and even if we aged her by a year, the other kids would still recognize her. No one seems to even care she is here though."

"Some older Slytherin's saw me," Ruby said. "But Slytherins also don't rat each other out. Probably some of them have snuck in."

"Plenty of people sneak in," Glenda said. "I think even prefects don't care all that much. They just turn a blind eye. You just have to make sure the teachers aren't there, and if they are, just avoid them as much as you can. Perfect Percy Weasley saw me a couple of times but never said a word and you'd think that him of all people would. I'm sure he knew I was too young."

"Well, I hope you two have fun and that you don't get caught," I added to Ruby. "We'll go on but maybe we can all hang out some other time."

"I'd like that," Ruby said smiling. "Nick said he wanted to introduce us soon. I'd like to meet Tasha too."

"Maybe we can all hang out tomorrow then," Glenda said.

"That would be lovely," Ruby agreed.

"That would be," I also agreed and then turned back to Glenda. "Speaking of Honeydukes, we haven't been yet."

We didn't say anything until halfway down the hill when she looked at me smiling.

"We can all hang out again? I take it that means you'd like to hang out with me again after today," she said.

"Yes, we've had fun today and I'd like to get to know you more," I said to her. "You would as well?"

"Yes," she said quickly. "Barry, you've been great. You've been natural. This is one of the best dates I've been on because you've been yourself, at least I believe it's been the real you. You haven't seemed fake at all."

"Well I haven't been," I assured her. "I did feel nervous earlier but it's gotten easier all day. You seem so easy to talk to. I thought that about Olivia and Lisa too but still, this was my real first date. I wasn't sure how it would turn out and we were strangers at first."

"That's usually how it starts," she said. "I think your friend Nick liked what he saw though."

"Believe me I noticed," I said dryly.

"Well don't be too hard on him. It's the way boys are," she told me. "It's the way a lot of them reacted to that Fleur Delacore and she's part Veela."

"She is?" I said surprised. "Well, that actually explains a lot. Something did seem off about her. The one day both Nick and I were caught by her charm. You should have seen us at the Quidditch World Cup!"

"You two probably didn't react any differently from the way Lance did," she replied. "Or even John. He's part of my group too though he and I aren't as close as Lance and I are. We all went together too and they tried to jump from the stands! And Lance actually asked Fleur out and so did that Ron Weasley. I've noticed she sits at the Ravenclaw table so that must be hard for you two."

"Not as hard as it was in the beginning and we don't sit near her anyway," I responded. "She sticks to the older students and we are probably just lowly third years to her. Hey look! There are Tasha and Luna," I added as we reached the bottom of the hill. The two girls were sitting on a bench at the bottom drinking something.

"Ooh, well let's go meet them then," she said.

I really liked this girl. She was enthusiastic, beautiful and easy to talk to. It seemed no conversation was off limits to her. She seemed cool. I just hoped that this time my first impression was right. I really didn't want another Olivia who had turned out cool but then turned out to be really mad.

After that day, Glenda and I hung out almost everyday. I did worry that maybe she didn't like me that much because we still hadn't kissed. At the end of our Hogsmeade date, she'd kissed me on the cheek. I did try a few times to just kiss her, but she always just turned her cheek to me when she saw this. Why didn't she want to kiss me? Maybe I was too young for her after all.

"I doubt she finds you repulsive," Tasha said after I'd suggested this one afternoon as we made our way to Hagrids.

For some reason he'd decided to return to classes after hiding out for a couple of weeks. He'd told Nick and Tasha that he'd talk about it outside of class. To their relief, he seemed to have forgotten about the Skrewts. Instead, he'd actually shown them unicorns which his substitute teacher had been showing the classes. According to Tasha, he'd found a baby unicorn which had been pure gold.

"So why doesn't she want to kiss?" I asked. "Maybe she just wants a friend."

"She holds your hand when you two hang out," Nick said. "She doesn't want friendship. Just ask her when this happens. She likely has a good reason. She always looks happy around you, so I doubt she finds you repulsive."

"Does Ruby let you kiss her?" I asked him.

"We had our first kiss after Hogsmeade," he answered. "She wasn't ready before then and maybe Glenda isn't either. Just because she is older, it doesn't mean anything. She might want to get to know you more before she decides that she is ready for a snog session."

"A lot of girls are like that," Tasha added. "Not all are like Olivia or Samaira. You have to remember each girl is different. For me, I don't want to kiss right away either. That is if I ever get a boyfriend."

"You will," Nick said. "You're thirteen Tasha."

"And you're beautiful," I added.

The idea of her dating still made me uneasy but I wouldn't step in. If she found a bloke, I would leave her alone unless I had a reason to dislike the bloke. I wouldn't do anything to make my best friend unhappy though. I did wonder how I would feel when she did finally get a boyfriend.

"Thanks," she said smiling at me. "I've heard other boys say that too, but still, I've only had one date and he ditched me."

"But a lot of blokes wanted to dance with you," Nick said. "I saw the way they were lining up for a chance. Just give it some time. You'll meet someone."

"You only did just start dating," I added to her. "You had no interest before. Maybe you could even ask one of the blokes you danced with. Are there any you liked?"

"Yes but I think he is taken," she said. "But I'll try that. There is a fourth year that I might ask to the next Task. I guess you're right. I will have to step up myself."

"I called it," Nick said laughing.

"Called what?" I asked.

"Nothing," Tasha said quickly. "You didn't call anything Nick. Don't be a prat."

"Whatever you say," Nick said.

"What are you two talking about?" I asked. "I hate when you do this. Can't anyone just explain what they are really talking about?"

"I called that she would ask someone out is all," Nick said. "I figured she'd be one of those girls but she wants to deny it all she wants. One of these days everything will come out in the open though."

"Whatever you say," I said. "But I wish the whole mysterious conversations would stop."

We reached Hagrid's cabin which ended the conversation. What did Tasha and Nick know that I didn't? Whatever it was, it wasn't about Tasha asking a bloke out. Was this what happened when you got older? You kept secrets from each other? I kept quiet as Nick knocked on Hagrids door and then were let in by Hagrid who greeted us happily.

"Haven' seen yer much this term Barry," Hagrid said as I took a seat at his table. "I'd expected yer would be in my class with these two."

"My schedule was already full," I told him.

Nick snorted and I shot him a glare. I was tired of everyone bugging me about taking Divination. I found it interesting.

"Anyway, tell us what happened," I said. "Why would you hide away like that? The people who matter don't care that you're half-giant. My parents have always liked you. I know plenty of other students besides us don't care."

"Exactly!" Nick said. "My parents told me they'd writing you."

"They did," Hagrid told him and then smiled at me. "Yours did as well. Hermione Granger and Dumbledore talked to me. I knew I was bein' dumb and I shouldn' hide away. Me dad would have been ashamed to know that I was hidin' away."

"I'm just glad you're back," Tasha told him. "Classes weren't the same without you and I know a lot of people felt the same way."

"Glenda, a girl I know," I said (I couldn't call her my girlfriend because I didn't know what we were) "told me to tell you that classes weren't the same without you. She knew that we were coming to see you and told me to make sure I told you that."

"Ah yes Glenda," he said smiling. "Very sweet girl. Surprise' yer know her though."

"She's his girlfriend," Nick said in a singy song type of voice.

"Bit old for yer isn' she?" Hagrid asked me looking amused.

"Just a year and a half. I'm fourteen now," I said and then I sighed. "Besides, I don't think she's my girlfriend," and I quickly explained my dilemma to him.

"Ah, I'm sure she jus' wants ter take her time," Hagrid said. "I've known her since her firs' year. She's come down to visit with Lance, John and Anita. All four are good kids. She wouldn' lead a bloke on like that. I 'spect they'll be comin' down ter see me soon too. They usually do. Don' take offense ter it Barry. She probably jus' wants ter take her time."

"That's what we told him," Tasha said.

"So you think she is a great girl then?" I asked him.

I did still worry I'd get another Olivia and I quickly explained this to Hagrid who chuckled.

"Nah she's nothin' like that. She's a good girl. I always thought you lot were ter young ter date but what do I know? Either way, just give her time," Hagrid told me.

"Well I'm glad to know that," I said relaxing now. "But I think I will still ask her about it later."

"What about yer too?" Hagrid asked Tasha and Nick. "Any dates I should know about?"

Nick began telling him about Ruby. I glanced over at Tasha who I thought looked sad. I sure hoped she would meet a bloke soon. As much as I dreaded it with my big brother feeling, she really wanted one, so I wanted her to find someone too. My thoughts went back to Glenda as they talked. Why wouldn't she kiss me? Was it because of what my friends and Hagrid said or was it another reason?

I met up with Glenda early the next Saturday. She was of course bubbly as usual. She looked really tired for some reason though. I asked her about this as we strolled through the corridors.

"Oh, well fifth year you know," she responded. "They pile the homework on you. Be lucky with your work load because next year it gets worse. The first three years are so easy. And I wanted to spend time with you today, so I stayed up really late to finish it all last night."

"You shouldn't have done that," I said with a frown. "I don't want you to get tired for me."

"It's fifth year Barry," she told me. "I won't sleep properly until I take my exams. Just wait until after the Easter holidays. I hear that's when they put all the review work on you. Anyway, I am caught up enough to spend the day with you. Hagrid told me that you told him we're dating by the way."

"He asked how I know you," I said and then I thought about the fact that she never let me kiss her. I figured this was a good of a time as any to bring it up. "But I'm not sure we really are. Maybe we're just hanging out for a laugh," I added the last part with more irritation than I'd meant to.

Glenda's face fell when I said this. "Why? What do you mean? I thought you liked hanging out with me," she said looking sad.

"I do," I told her. "It's just that I'm not sure how you feel. Every time I try to kiss you, you pull away or you just let me kiss your cheek. I just feel like maybe you're not attracted to me or something."

She let out a sigh and then pulled me over to the wall which we both leaned against.

"Oh Barry, that's not it at all," she said. "I just wanted to take this slow. I want us to hang out and get to know each other. It's just with other blokes, they wanted to have this pretty girl to snog and to have bragging rights. So far you've proved that you don't, but I still worry. I just don't want to snog only to find out that you wanted this beautiful older girl to snog and show off to your friends."

"I'm not like that," I told her. "I don't use girls. Do you think that just because of what happened with Lisa?"

"No," she said. "I know you had some hope that the two of you might become more even if it just started off as you two needing a date. I just wanted us to spend time together first before we got to that level. Believe me, I wouldn't be with you if I didn't find you attractive. You are very cute. Can you wait a bit longer?"

I nodded. I would wait for her. It did make me wonder about my plan to snog random girls though. Would I make them feel insecure too? I hesitated and then said this to Glenda who smiled and shook her head.

"That's not the same thing at all Barry. With the people who have their snog sessions, they both know where they stand. With a lot of the blokes I dated, they just wanted eye candy. I know it makes me sound conceited, but I know I am very beautiful and with beauty comes blokes who just want a quick snog fest or even a quick shag. Now that I'm fifteen, there are boys who think I'm ready but I'm not."

"Well, I'm not ready for that," I told her feeling my face redden. "I can't even imagine… I mean, all I've done is snog."

"I know you're not," she said to me. "And neither am I, and so that's why we're good together. Just, let us hang out a few more times Barry, please."

"I can wait," I told her. "I just needed to know. I just worried you didn't find me attractive."

"Well, I should have been honest with you from the beginning," she told me. "It's my fault. As excited as I was about our date, I didn't know for sure if it would work out. So I didn't say anything, and then we hung out with your friends and I like them too. I think it's time you met mine as well. I was going to suggest that anyway. We can hang out this morning and then later this afternoon we'll meet up. Maybe we'll all get along."

"Maybe we can do that tomorrow?" I suggested. "Nick and Ruby are hanging out today so I don't want Tasha to be left out. We promised her that we wouldn't ditch her for girlfriends after all."

"My friends have that same promise," Glenda told me. "We'll all hang out tomorrow then."

We spent the rest of the morning wandering the corridors and talking. We'd hung out everyday but it seemed we still had a lot of things to learn about each other. She took me up to the one eyed statue to show me where the secret passage to Hogmeade was. She tapped it with her wand and said: "Dissendium." The hump on the statue moved. There was an opening and what looked like a slide.

"We will go down there sometime," she told me as she tapped it so it would go back. "Not today. Too chilly out, but maybe we can make a date of it sometime. It should be fun. Students do it all the time. There used to be another really good one but it caved in. There are others but a lot of the time Filch guards them and there is also the Shrieking Shack one."

"But the Whomping Willow is on that one," I said as we moved away from the statue.

"But there must be away into it. There's got to be a way to stop the Willow from hitting you," Glenda said. "Lance and John have been trying to figure it out since we found out Sirius Black was hiding down there. They haven't yet, but they will soon enough. They are good at figuring things out."

"Are they going to hate me?" I asked her. "I feel like I will be protective of Tasha when she gets a boyfriend. Will they be with me?"

"They've been worried, but Hagrid assured them that you're a great bloke. I told them to be nice when they meet you today and I think they will be," Glenda told me. "Lance will probably be a little annoyed because I am his best friend, but I told him not to be hard on you. John likes to tease me that I'm with a third year. So he'll probably just tease you. Don't be too worried Barry."

I tried not to be, but later that afternoon while waiting for the four of them in an empty classroom, I felt terrified. Tasha and Nick had wanted to come with me for moral support, but I'd told them that we'd all hang out tomorrow. I sat on a desk and took a few deep breaths as I waited on them. I truly hoped that we would all get along.

About five minutes after I entered the classroom, the four fifth years did. Glenda and her friend Anita (which was kind of plain looking with long black hair) grinned at me. The two blokes were unreadable. One of them who had brown hair was about my height while the blond was very tall.

"Well, this is him," Glenda said to her friends. "Barry, this is Lance," and she pointed to the blond who gave a nod, "and this is John," she pointed to the other bloke who grinned at me and then she introduced me to Anita who had the biggest grin.

"Don't look so worried Barry," Glenda told me. "They're friendly. Trust me."

"We really are," John said as he held his hand out to me to shake. "Unless you hurt her of course but Glenda and Hagrid have both told us you're a great bloke."

"And I know your cousins," Anita added to me. "They seem nice so I imagine you are too."

Lance didn't say anything until Anita nudged him. He glared at her and then looked at me.

"Yes, you seem alright I suppose," he finally said. "Glenda wants us to get to know you. So I'm willing to for her sake. Just don't try anything."

"Well what can he do Lance?" John asked laughing. "He's just a third year. He's a little boy."

"I resent that comment," I said but I smiled.

John just laughed. Anita looked a little put out and I thought it had to do with Lance glaring at her. I wondered what that was about. I wasn't so sure about Lance but the other two seemed really friendly. John in fact continued to joke with me about my age as the day went on. I did try and engage Lance into a conversation and at first he gave me one word responses but after a while, I managed a real conversation. Anita seemed a bit shy, but she did talk when I asked her questions.

"We'll meet here again tomorrow," Glenda said a couple hours later. "After lunch I think. You three go on. I just want a few words with Barry."

"Talk to you tomorrow," John said happily. "Out of all of Glenda's boyfriends you seem alright."

"He's right," Lance said which surprised me. He was still so unreadable. "Usually when I meet them for the first time I think they are prats. You don't seem that way. I hope I'm not wrong about you."

"You're not," Glenda assured him. "Go on you three. I'll be there in probably a half hour."

"Nice meeting you Barry," Anita said with a grin.

Glenda waited until they were gone to ask what I thought. I wasn't sure about Lance still but John reminded me of Nick while Anita kind of reminded me of a shy Brianne. I liked both of them. I told her this. I didn't tell her that I thought Lance's over protectiveness wasn't because he didn't want her to get hurt, but because he was in love with her. I could have been wrong, but I had a feeling that I wasn't.

"Well I think they liked you too, even Lance," Glenda told me. "He's never complimented a boyfriend before and he practically did with you."

I figured it was because he didn't see much competition with me. I just smiled and nodded. Then I thought about Anita and Lance. The two didn't seem like friends even if they hung out together. I said this to Glenda.

"In fact, it was as if Lance doesn't like her at all," I said.

"Anita was late coming into our group," Glenda said. "She was this shy girl and Lance resented her coming into our group at first, but he does like her. He's proven that enough times when he defends her that he does indeed like her. Sometimes people make fun of her for being shy and she stutters at times. She seemed so calm around you, so I can tell she likes you. I think she just annoyed him when she nudged him. Just last night he let her sit on his lap when there were no chairs left, so he can't dislike her. John thinks he has a love/dislike relationship with her."

"But what is there to dislike?" I asked. "She seems nice."

"I think he sees her as a burden sometimes," Glenda said. "But don't worry about my friends. As a foursome we all get along great and I am sure we will get along tomorrow with your friends too."

"I hope so," I said. "But I don't see why not. In fact, I think Nick and John will get along really well and so will Anita and Tasha. Lance… well, I don't know yet. I'm sure we'll all be fine though."

"I'm sure we will," she said happily. She leaned over to kiss my cheek. "After lunch tomorrow Barry. Bye."

"Bye," I said touching the spot she'd kissed.

I didn't follow her. I just sat back on a desk. I wanted sometime to myself before I went back to my friends. I had a bad feeling about Lance, and I wasn't sure why.

We met up with the four fifth years the next day after lunch. They were already in the classroom when the three of us entered. Anita and Lance seemed a lot more friendlier that day then the night before. They were sharing the same desk. Glenda was leaning against another desk wearing a short pink skirt. It was hard for me not to automatically look at her legs. Why did she have to look so good? I didn't want her friends to notice me staring though, so I only looked for a second before I smiled at her and located John who was drawing on the chalk board.

"Hello," Glenda said excitedly. "We've met of course but these are my friends," and she introduced everyone to each other.

John stopped drawing on the chalk board as he noticed Tasha. His eyes widened as he looked her up and down. I felt anger by this but I pushed it away. I couldn't give into my big brother feeling. I had to remember that other boys would notice her too. Lance gave her a once over but he didn't seem all that interested. He was mostly staring at me which made me uncomfortable. Had he noticed the way I'd looked at Glenda in her short skirt?

"It's so great to meet you lot," Tasha said happily. "Barry told us a lot about you yesterday from your short meeting."

"It's nice to meet you too," John said as he walked over to her. "Very nice to meet you."

"She's thirteen John," Glenda said quickly.

"And I am fifteen," John said to her. "I've dated thirteen-year-olds. Not that I want to date you of course," he said quickly. "I mean, not that you aren't dateable… I mean-"

"He finds you very attractive," Anita said. "But he doesn't want to scare you off or upset your friends who are probably very protective of you. He'd only date you if you were interested back, but he doesn't expect anything. He can't help but notice a cute girl."

"What she said," John said with a grin before turning to shake Nick's hand.

"It's okay," Tasha said with a smile. "I know boys notice me. It's not a bad thing. Nick and Barry know that too."

"Of course," I said still feeling annoyed though.

"She's actually looking for someone," Nick said and I glared at the back of his head.

I saw Lance raise his eyebrows at me but he said nothing. I wasn't sure if this meeting was going well or not. Everything seemed awkward and I was trying hard not to be annoyed with John looking at my friend as if she were eye candy. Now I understood how Lance had felt.

"Let's just all get to know each other," Glenda said. "That's what today is about. Let's just walk around the corridors and talk. I want us all to get along so we can hang out more."

"Ruby my girlfriend is coming too," Nick said. "Can we wait until she comes?"

I thought I saw disappointment on Anita's face. Perhaps she'd been hoping they'd like each other but she said nothing.

"That's fine," Glenda said. "She seems like a cool kid too. We can wait for her."

"Would you like to talk to me in the corridor while we wait?" John asked Tasha.

I stared at John and Tasha. Would she say yes? Would she actually say yes? John noticed me staring and looked at me nervously before looking back at Tasha.

"If that's okay I mean," he said.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Tasha asked. "Of course we can," and she looked at me with what I thought was confusion. "I mean, the whole point of today was to get to know each other right?"

"Right," I said.

I wasn't going to stand in their way. What could I really do? Tasha did want to meet someone, and at least it was a friend of my girlfriends. It was likely a lot better this way then some bloke I didn't know anything about. I was sure Glenda could tell me what I needed to know. I also wanted Lance to stop staring at me with what I thought looked like suspicion.

"You two should, everyone should if we're all going to get along," I said quickly. "We might see each other a lot more now."

Tasha grinned at me and then followed John out. Nick moved closer to me.

"She'll be fine," he murmured in my ear. "At least it's through your girlfriend."

"I know," I said back.

"John really is a good guy," Anita told us. "I expect you two get all big brother with her like Lance and John do for Glenda. John has had one girlfriend, and they were together for almost two years. He was very good to her."

"They only broke up because she stopped having time for him," Glenda added. "They dated from second year to the Easter holidays last year."

"She belonged to all sorts of clubs, she had her OWLs coming up and she wanted to be on the Quidditch team too," Lance added on. "Didn't make it this year, but she'll probably keep trying. She's a sixth year Hufflepuff."

"Well I'll take your word for it," I said. "I expect I'll feel this way with Brenda when she starts dating too. It's hard not to when it comes to them."

"I understand," Lance said. "I get the same way with the girls."

"Well, more Glenda than me," Anita said. "I haven't really dated."

"I still get that way with you," Lance told her. "The point is that John is good with girls. Give him the same benefit of the doubt that we are giving you."

"And nothing might even happen anyway," Glenda said. "But John can't help it when he sees a pretty girl," and then she looked at Lance. "Too bad you couldn't find a girlfriend. It's been a while for you too."

Lance just shrugged.

Ruby entered the classroom moments later with a smile on her face. Nick walked over to put an arm around her. I took Glenda's hand and we left the classroom. Across the corridor, Tasha and John were talking to each other. Tasha had a huge grin on her face. I had a feeling that she liked him and I felt dread at this thought. Again, I had to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't interfere.

Glenda and I got closer after that day and to my dismay, so did Tasha and John. She really seemed to like him, and after a week, she told me that they were officially a couple. I worried about her being with a fifteen-year-old boy though Glenda kept telling me that I didn't have to worry. She told me he'd never make a girl do something she didn't want to do. I took her word for it even if I worried. Nick didn't seem to be as worried, but he seemed focused on Ruby anyway.

For the first time, the three of us seemed separate from each other. We only really saw each other in classes, or late in the evenings. There were times when Tasha would lock herself in her dorm to write letters back and forth with John. Thankfully, with my best friend dating one of my girlfriends friends, I was able to see Tasha more than I saw Nick.

By that point, Glenda seemed to trust me enough to finally snog me. We spent many snog sessions in empty corridors or hidden passages around the castle. This was able to take my mind off of Tasha. Kissing a beautiful older woman could take my mind away from many of my worries. With Olivia, we kissed but Glenda really liked touching certain places and she let me do the same. I'd felt weird at first when it came to touching her butt, but after a while that went away. She encouraged me to touch her breasts as well. I felt my face redden when I did this for the first time.

"You are so cute," She said to me and then kissed me. "I love experiencing your firsts Barry. Don't worry for think about it."

But it was hard not to. I was doing something I'd day dreamed about in the past, but I'd never thought I would. I hadn't thought I would until I was my cousins ages, but here I was at the age of fourteen touching certain parts of a girl that were normally forbidden. She was also touching me in places too.


	21. Third Year Part Nine

Brenda must have caught us at it because she'd written home to tell my parents about it. The beginning of my parents next letter told me this, and I worried at first that they'd be angry with me for messing with a girl. However, all it was advice and warning from them. They both told me that they hoped I hadn't gone as far as shagging (As if I ever could. The thought still scared me.) and if I had to just be very careful, but they felt I was too young to be doing any of that. Mum told me we'd have a talk about everything I needed to know when I came home in the summer. I felt embarrassed as I wrote back to them to reassure them that we just snogged and sometimes touched. It wasn't a topic of conversation I thought I'd had with my parents.

I told Glenda about this and she laughed.

"Your sister sounds like a piece of work," she said. "I can't believe she wrote to your parents."

"She'll rat me out about anything," I said. "I just wonder what she saw exactly."

"Don't worry about her. Barry, we're doing what normal people our age do. Some people do more," Glenda told me. "Maybe she is even jealous."

I didn't want to think about Brenda doing the things I was doing with some bloke. I hated the fact that Tasha may have been doing it as well. I really hoped she wasn't, but she was with a fifteen-year-old and Glenda was fifteen.

All the boys in my dorm thought I was some kind of of stud because I'd gotten a beautiful older girl. A lot of people stared at her. I'd seen some first years boys mouths drop open when she came over to join our table. I got used to her beauty but I did remember my first reaction to seeing her. I couldn't blame other blokes for reacting the same way. It wasn't the same level as attraction that boys had when it came to Fleur Delacour, but they still seemed stunned.

The boys in my year in other houses also thought I was very lucky. Colin Creevey tried following me around until I lost it on him. I'd always tried being nice to him, but I didn't want someone following me around all the time either. I didn't care if he admired me or not. It was very annoying.

I confronted Brenda about a week after my parents had written to me. The Tri-Wizard Tournament task was about a week away. I found her and Kendra sitting with the other second years for once discussing what they thought the task would be.

"You and me need to talk," I said as I approached her.

"Hi Barry," a girl said to me and winked.

Brenda shot her a glare and then stood up. I led her out of the common room and down the spiraling staircase. I waited until we found an empty corridor far from the common room before I turned to her.

"Who do you think you are writing mum and dad about what I was doing with Glenda," I said angrily. "Why are such a rat? What are you doing spying on me anyway?"

"I wasn't spying," Brenda said rolling her eyes. She leaned against the stone wall and stared at me. "We walked in on the two of you. You were quite into each other. I figured mum and dad should know what they're perfect son was up to."

"Well they aren't angry with me in case you thought they were," I told her. "And I do know you hoped they would be. They- well, they weren't angry anyway."

"They gave you the talk, didn't they?" Brenda asked with a smirk.

"Somewhat and they will be again in the summer," I told her. "And don't think you're getting off. I bet since they are giving it to me they will give it to you too. You'll be in third year next year. They know you'll be old enough to date… that is if you ever find a bloke that actually likes you."

"Plenty already do," Brenda said sounding smug.

"Well I doubt they've talked to you," I replied. "I just wanted to tell you to stop ratting me out to mum and dad. I don't do that to you. I don't know why you're trying so hard to get my punished. Are you hoping I'll get spanked too or something?"

"Well why not? If I have to get them then you should too," she said.

"Well knock it off," I said. "I'm sick of it. And if you keep it up, I will tell mum and dad what you're trying to do. Now leave me alone and if you see me doing stuff, just ignore it."

"Whatever," Brenda said shrugging. "Brianne will be here next year."

She turned and walked off. I stared after her feeling annoyed.

"Don't you dare rat her out or bother her Brenda Hoofer," I called after her.

I heard her giggle and I shook my head.

"My sister is a sociopath," I muttered to myself.

"Talking to yourself is another form of a mental illness," I heard someone say.

I turned quickly to find that Ralph was grinning at me. He must have appeared from the hidden passage not too far from us. I would have seen him coming otherwise.

"I heard your whole conversation," he said to me with a grin.

"My sister is a nightmare," I said to him. "I get so tired of her being around. Why couldn't she have been sorted anywhere but Ravenclaw?"

"You know, Garth used to say the same about me but we got along as we got older," Ralph said to me.

"But I bet you weren't as bad as she is," I said. "I think I remember Garth saying something about you getting on his case, but I can't see you being that bad. You know, she wrote home to my parents about my relationship."

"I heard," Ralph said. "I was using that passage," and he pointed over his shoulder to where the hidden passage was, "to have my own snog session. You two interrupted her and she took off. Such a shame because she was such a pretty girl. I'm over it though."

"I thought you had a girlfriend," I said thinking of the conversation from the year before. He'd shagged her apparently.

"Broke up ages ago," Ralph replied. "You're not shagging already are you?"

"No," I answered quickly.

"Good, you don't need to be yet. Give it until at least fifth year but you should wait even longer if you can," he said.

"I thought you were all proud of it," I said. "I'm surprised you're giving me that kind of advice."

"Sex complicates things and you're just a third year," Ralph said as he ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved it but I think I should have listened to the older cousins. They all told me to wait but I didn't. I just wanted to be like Garth and the rest of them. I feel that I should look out for you."

"I haven't though of it," I said and then I sighed and retracted as Ralph raised his eyebrows. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I have but I just know I'm not ready because the idea scares me. Glenda and I have talked about that. We're not going to do that and as beautiful as she is, I don't know if it's her I want to shag… I mean I would like to but I don't know if I do. I know that sounds weird and contradictory."

Ralph laughed.

"I know exactly what you mean. You have this gorgeous girl that you'd love to shag, but on the other hand, she may not be the one. It's okay to feel that way Barry. You're fourteen and you're horny but you're also smart. Chester is the smart one out of all of us. He felt the same way you did. Garth and me weren't like that and neither were the other cousins. Keep thinking that way Barry. Wait until it feels right otherwise you'll end up in my situation," he said. "We're broken up but she still doesn't leave me alone. And well… I've been a bit dumb when it comes to other girls. My point is, whatever you're doing, just keep it up."

"And what if we're still together a year from now and it feels right?" I asked him.

"I think you should really think about it," Ralph said. "If it feels right, go for it but I still think you should be at least fifth or sixth year. Seventeen should actually be the ideal age, but a lot of people don't wait."

"Well, maybe Ill talk to you when I feel like I am at that level then," I told him.

"Well, I'll be here for you, even if I am not at school anymore," Ralph said. "I dunno why we ignored each other all these years."

"Because I was just ickle Barry until I started school," I said. "I mean us B Hoofers were just the kids to you lot before."

"Yes but we should have taken you under our wing years ago, even before you started school," Ralph said. "With your siblings, they at least have you, but you didn't have anyone. I just hope you'll look out for Benny when it's his turn."

"I plan to. I still do for Brenda even though she is a complete nightmare," I replied. "Thanks for the talk Ralph."

The day of the second task was a cold but cloudy day. We'd all decided to meet up in the Entrance Hall after breakfast. Not only were we sitting with the Gryffindor fifth years, but Ruby was bringing along a couple of her friends too. We decided to eat fairly early so that all of us could sit together. I had never imagined myself to be part of such a large group.

And although I hadn't been so sure about Tasha and John at first, I could tell he was a nice bloke, especially with girls. Her face always lit up whenever someone or she mentioned him too. So I accepted their relationship, and I could even admit that they made a cute couple. The two of them were holding hands and taking bets while we walked to the bleachers which now encircled the lake. Glenda and Lance were walking together talking, and though I felt annoyed I had to remember how much it bothered her when blokes got jealous of them. So I just talked to Anita who told me that she wanted a Gryffindor, so her money was on Harry.

"What do you expect they need to do?" I asked as we reached the bleachers. "They're going into the lake, but what are they doing?"

"Must have to fight lake creatures or something," Nick said. "I'd hate to be going out into the lake today. It's freezing!"

I had to agree. Once we reached the top of the bleachers, Glenda thankfully took a seat beside me and took my hand. I congratulated myself inwardly. I hadn't gotten jealous… well, I had but I hadn't let it show and I'd just talked to the others. Lance was sitting with Anita now, and looking at the lake. Perhaps it was the two of them who actually liked each other, and I was wrong about his feelings for Glenda. I'd heard of sexual tension in the past, maybe they had it.

Just as he had introduced the task before, Ludo Bagman did it again and then went on to explain what the champions were doing that day. They were to go in the lake to retrieve something and then were to return outside the hour with it. They would be awarded based on spell work and how long it took for them to find it.

"So we're just going to be staring at the lake for an hour?" Lance asked with annoyance. "I gave up a day of studying for this?"

"Oh come on," Glenda said. "We needed a break. All we do is study anymore and I'd rather stare into a lake then to think about Runes at the moment."

"You're caught up anyway," Anita said to Lance.

"Yes, but I wanted to study," he said with a sigh.

"Maybe go back then?" John suggested. "We don't want to listen to you whine all hour."

"You won't," Lance said. "But you can't tell me you aren't disappointed."

"I am," John admitted. "But it's better than equations, and I get to spend the time with my girl."

I glanced over at Nick who was talking to the second years. Ruby was leaning against him and talking excitedly. I thought he liked her a lot more than he had Samaira. I looked around to see if I could find my house mates or even Brenda. I located Brenda close to the bottom of the bleachers. She seemed to be getting along with the other second years which was a rare moment. They were all laughing together. I saw Luna on her own not too far from us reading The Quibbler.

The champions stood apart by the lake, and once a whistle blew they all did something differently before going in. Cedric Diggory performed the bubble head charm (something I hadn't quite gotten the hang of yet) and leaped in. Fleur Delacour also did the bubble head charm. Krum did something cool though. He transfigured his head into a shark head and then dived in. Harry was the only one remaining. He walked into the lake looking quite normal. Around us, people began to yell and laugh at him. Perhaps he was too young after all to be in the tournament. He didn't seem to know what to do, but then he seemed to turn into some big fish like creature and he dived in.

"Gillyweed," Glenda said. "Wonder where he got that from."

"Maybe ordered some?" I asked. "Is that what he did?"

"Yes, it's a plant that allows you to breath under water. We learned that recently in Herbology. Wonder how he figured that out."

"Likely Longbottom," John said. "That kid is amazing in Herbology. I've had to ask him things myself. I find it so boring."

"Maybe I should ask him for tips then," I said. "I don't know the class too well. It's my worst one."

"He's also friends with Granger. She knows everything," Lance said.

Since we really couldn't see anything, all we could really do is talk and debate what was happening. I felt Glenda shiver beside me. And although I couldn't help but appreciate the short skirt she was wearing under her cloak, I did wonder why she thought it was proper for this kind of weather. She always wore clothes that looked good but wasn't the best for cold weather. I decided to perform the warming charm on us. She glanced at me gratefully and then snuggled up closer to me.

It wasn't long before it seemed something was wrong, and then one of the Ministry workers went into the lake and returned with Fleur Delacore. She seemed determined to get back into the lake, but they wouldn't let her. They wrapped her up in a blanket and then made her drink something that made steam come from her ears.

"She doesn't seem to be very good does she?" Tasha said. "Wonder why she was chosen."

"She didn't too bad with the dragon," I said. "But she seems brave. She's trying to get back in."

The subject seemed to be divided. Some people thought she wasn't very good while others thought that she just had some bad luck. Ruby thought that the boys who thought she was good only thought that because she was very pretty. This caused a debate between her and Lance. It took me a moment to realize that three different houses were sitting together and getting along really well. How often did that happen? Especially since we were in different years.

Not long after that, Cedric Diggory appeared with Cho Chang. So they'd gone under to retrieve people from under the lake, which Ludo Bagman told us as I thought this. Their mission was to rescue hostages, people they would miss the most, from the lake. It made sense for why Cedric had to save Cho then. I did wonder who the others had to save. It didn't seem as if Fleurs relationship with Roger had lasted too long, so who had she gone after?

Krum was next with Hermione Granger. Apparently their relationship was more than I'd guessed. Now we were just waiting for Potter. I hoped he'd get out before the effects of Gillyweed wore off. From what I heard the fifth years say, it didn't last more than an hour. The Ministry workers wouldn't let him drown though, I was sure of that.

He finally surfaced with Ron Weasley and a little blond girl. Given the resemblance, and Fleurs reaction, I was guessing the little girl was her younger sister. It was a bit funny to me that Harry would miss Ron Weasley the most, and I could hear others laughing about this too. But then again, I knew I would miss Nick a lot. I did miss him a lot lately. I would miss Tasha too.

Everyone cheered when we found out that Cedric and Harry were tied for first. That meant we could get a Hogwarts win no matter what. Krum was second and Fleur was last place. I was cheering for Harry now. I wanted him to prove to everyone that an underage student was capable of winning as much as a seventeen year old was. It seemed plenty of others agreed with me. I could hear people discussing it as we all made our way down the bleachers.

"That was exciting," Glenda said turning to me. "Look, I need to get caught up on homework, but we can hang out tomorrow. I'll make sure I have everything done so we can and we have the next Hogsmeade visit coming up."

"That's fine," I said feeling a little put out, but I didn't admit this. "I hope you get caught up. I have some work to do too."

Glenda kissed me and then her and Lance took off. John and Tasha were still hanging out while Nick walked off with the second years leaving me with Anita.

"Glenda's gotten a little behind since getting with you," she said with a small smile. "Not that it's your fault, but she is determined to catch up now."

"I understand," I said. "I'm surprised my work hasn't suffered quite yet. I should probably go do that too."

"Want help?" Anita asked me. "We could work in the library if you want. It will help me refresh for my own work."

"Erm… well sure," I said. "I'll meet you in the library then."

I had a few questions for her anyway. I did wonder if she would admit what I wanted to know though. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try though. So ten minutes later, I met up with her in the library. It wasn't too full and that was likely because everyone was celebrating the Hogwarts win at the moment.

I waited until she'd helped me with a couple Ancient Rune's questions before I asked.

"Is Lance in love with Glenda?" I asked her.

"Do you really want the honest answer to that?" Anita asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Will it change your relationship with her?" Anita pressed.

"No. Whether he does or doesn't, I am not going to break up with her," I responded.

"I hope not because he does. He'd been in love with her since our second year, but he has always been good at hiding it until the beginning of this year," Anita replied. "I think he really figured it out when he saw her dressed up for the Yule Ball. But he won't interfere with your relationship. Don't worry about that. He knows how much she likes you, and he wants her to be happy."

"And has he told you this?" I asked her.

Anita sighed and set her quill down. She gave a small nod and then looked away.

"Because you like him right?" I asked. When she looked away I had a feeling that was it.

She glanced at me and nodded.

"I was his date to the Yule Ball. I couldn't find anyone, and he wanted her so he didn't ask anyone. I asked him if maybe we could go together as friends and he agreed. Everything came out at the Yule Ball. I told him how I felt and then he told me everything. I admit, it's been rather hard. It's always been hard having Glenda as my best friend because she's so beautiful but I don't complain," Anita answered and she sighed. "And sometimes I think she likes him back but she doesn't know it… so don't get jealous. Right now it's all about you. She talks about you all the time, but at times I see her staring at him. I shouldn't be telling you that though."

"No, it's good to know," I said. "I don't expect us to get married, but I do like her quite a bit."

"Yes well, I think you will come to your own realizations someday," Anita told me. "It will just take sometime."

I sighed. Here was another person telling me this but remaining vague. Why couldn't people just tell me what they were talking about? I asked Anita this and she smiled.

"I don't know if I should be the one telling you. You're my best friends boyfriend," she said to me.

"Yes but someone should tell me," I said. "I'm tired of this mysterious vague kind of conversation."

"I just worry it will change your relationship with my friend," she said.

"Your other thing didn't," I told her. "So I doubt this will. Come on Anita, please just tell me."

"Fine, but it has potential to change the lives of at least four people," she told me and when I continued to stare at her, she grinned and shook her head. "I think you and Tasha like each other but you haven't realized it yet. It's the same with Lance and Glenda."

"Tasha is like a sister," I said to her.

"For now, but I don't think you feel protective of her like you do your sister Brenda. I think you just don't want her dating and you haven't realized it's because you like her," Anita said. "The thing is, I have time to observe the way people interact and I see this kind of thing all the time. It hurts because as you know, I like Lance but Glenda gets all the boys. No one ever notices me and the one boy I actually like isn't interested. I've never really had a boyfriend. I bet I never do."

"You're fifteen," I said to her. "You have time."

"Sixteen actually," she said. "But we came here to work on your school work. Not to talk about my problems. I promise I won't tell Glenda about this conversation. Now let's get back to Arithmancy and then Herbology. All this is refreshing to me after all."

So the two of us worked together for the rest of the day. I thought she was actually very smart and nice. She wasn't that beautiful but that wasn't everything. Why didn't blokes notice her more? I thought her and me could be friends, with or without Glenda. I did wonder about what she said about Tasha and me. There was no way I saw her more than a friend. That was just silly. Anita only thought that because of other couples.

I thought Glenda seemed to be getting distant from me after that day, and I wondered if Anita had mentioned our conversation after all. What if Glenda was upset that I might be jealous of Lance? That was a turn off for her after all. I tried to believe it was about OWLs, but I couldn't help but notice that as we went into March that we didn't see each other as often.

We went into Hogsmeade together, but even then she was distant. Was she worried about her exams? The only thing she seemed really interested in talking about was the latest gossip about Viktor Krum, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. I really didn't care what was going on with them and I didn't believe that Hermione would play two boys against each other anyway. However, it was all anyone would talk about. When we all got together, it was what all the girls, including Ruby and Tasha would discuss. Nick seemed annoyed that his crush was with two different boys though I told him that I believed Hermione when she insisted to others that her and Harry were just friends.

My mind was mainly on my relationship that wasn't going as well as I'd wanted it to. Even Brenda seemed to notice this, but for once she wasn't mean about it. She seemed to be sympathetic during our study sessions.

"I say chuck her before she chucks you," she told me.

"Maybe it's just OWLs," I said to her.

"You told me what that Anita girl told you," Brenda said. "What if she is actually realizing that it's that Lance bloke she likes after all."

"It's not," I said. "Let's not talk about it anymore Brenda."

And then a few days before the Easter holidays, I met up with Glenda in one of our many hidden passages we used to snog in. She was leaning against the wall staring at the other side. She didn't smile when I reached her, and when I tried to kiss her, she turned away.

"We need to talk," she said to me.

"The four words every bloke wants to hear," I said with a small smile.

"I feel really horrible about this, and I tried not to feel this way," she said to me. "I really tried hard because it's not fair to you."

"You like Lance and he likes you," I confirmed and she nodded.

"I figured. I think I've known a while," I said. "Ever since I saw the two of you together but I did my best to ignore it. At times I hoped it was Anita, but then she told me that she was in love with him but he didn't share her feelings." I didn't add what she'd told me about Lance's feeling.

"When did Anita tell you that?" She asked with surprise.

"Second task," I replied. "We did homework together and she admitted it to me. I thought she seemed a bit down and I asked her."

"I thought she might have but she never told me," Glenda said.

"Well, do my a favour and don't mention it," I said to her. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"I'll do anything for you Barry," she said. "I feel so awful about this because I did like you at first and I wanted it to work with us. It's why I let this go on so long, but I could tell you sensed something and I knew I had to tell you. I just want you to know nothing ever happened. Lance and I would never… we've been studying so much and I worked it out. I had to tell you though. I hope you don't hate me."

"You can't help how you feel," I told her. "I don't hate you."

"Can I give you a piece of advice though?" She asked.

I shrugged in answer.

"Don't wait too long with Tasha. You might regret it like I have and you might hurt others," she said.

"I don't like-" I began.

"You two will realize it someday just like Lance and me have," she told me. "Don't wait too long. Right now John and Tasha are happy but it won't be long before it ends too."

"Right," I said and looked away from her.

"Can we have one last kiss Barry?" She asked.

I didn't answer, I leaned forward instead to kiss her. She held onto me tightly before pulling away. She gave me a sad smile and then turned and walked off. I leaned against the wall. No I hadn't loved her, but I still felt horrible. Was this was a broken heart felt like?

I left the passage about five minutes later. I was blinking back tears and I felt embarrassed by this. As I did this, I ran into Brenda who stared and then she walked over to hug me. She knew. I didn't have to tell her. She already knew, and for once she was being a sister. I don't know how long we hugged, but she when pulled away she patted my shoulder.

"You'll find someone else," she told me. "I know you will. I know I don't say this often, but I love you Barry."

"I love you too," I said and I hugged her again.

For a moment, we were brother and sister again. I wished we could always have these moments. I hated that they were rare. However, I would take what I could get.


	22. Third Year Part Ten

My friends tried their best to cheer me up over the Easter holidays. Ruby had gone home, so Nick spent most of him time with me studying. John and his friends had stayed, so while Tasha hung out with him when she could, she spent a lot of time with me as well. Brenda and my cousins often came to sit with me too. I didn't know why I felt so off. I'd expected it since Anita's confession but I still felt really sad.

"Just give it a few weeks mate," Chester told me. "First break ups are hard and last year didn't count with Olivia."

"Know what I think?" Nick asked me one evening as we got ready for bed. "I think it's time we put our potions to good use. We could go to the Hogshead one night. We could have some fun."

"I agree," Darren who had been listening in said.

All the boys had stayed for the Easter holidays. They all knew about my break up of course. They hadn't said much about it, but I'd noticed that they too were trying to keep my company. I was surprised no one made fun of me about it. Not even Gretchen had anything nasty to say, but I'd noticed her smirking at me. I had a feeling the girls had told her to leave me alone.

"Yes, we have these potions for a reason," Philip said looking up. "Why not take advantage? How much do we take? We want to make it look like we're at least seventeen, right?"

"I think a mouthful," I said. "We want to age a few years."

"Well, I am turning fourteen tomorrow," Ivan said. "We could celebrate my birthday too."

"Just a boys night though," Kevin said. "Let Tasha stay behind for a night."

I shrugged. "I don't know if she'd want to anyway," I said. "But I think a night in Hogsmeade is what I need. I just don't know why it's bothering me so much. I wasn't in love with her. I knew we weren't going to be married and I even figured she and Lance liked each other."

"First real relationship mate," Nick said. "You'll be fine soon. You two did get along well too. And at least you have some real experience too. I bet by the end of the holidays you'll be back to normal. You're better than you were. At least you're eating again."

"Well I wanted to avoid the Great Hall," I said.

I'd tried not to eat when it was crowded the first few days because Lance and Glenda had wasted no time. I'd even seen them snogging in one of my short cuts. I hadn't eaten much in two days. The letter from dad had helped though. He'd told me about his first break up. I was getting better each day, but it still really hurt. Garth had sent a letter the following day, and I guess that Ralph must have told him. It felt good to have so much support.

"Can't avoid them forever," Philip said. "He looks like a big bloke too. I'm surprised he let it happen for so long."

"He wanted her to be happy," I said. "But I think something must have happened after the task. We were fine until that day. I've been a bit paranoid, but sometimes I wonder if her friend Anita and him planned it," and I told them the conversation I'd had with Anita that day.

"Maybe but it could also be that he just decided to tell her either way," Philip said. "They went off to study together and it could have been a complete coincidence that she wanted to hang out with you."

"Yes maybe," I said. "But something happened that day or afterwards. She might be completely innocent or not. I just think Lance said something to her and she realized it too. I just wonder if Anita wanted him to be happy, so she took the task of distracting me while they worked together."

"But they were in their common room," Darren said. "Why would you need distracting. Maybe that Anita girl just wanted to help you as she said. You were the one who brought the conversation up. Maybe you could talk to that Anita girl about it. If that is the case, she owes you. Either way, we need to get you out of this rut. I like the idea of trying the aging potion for a night out. When should we do it?"

"Maybe tomorrow night?" I suggested.

"We should plan it better," Nick said. "We need to make sure we aren't caught, and I think this is something your cousins will actually help us out with. I'll talk to them for you. I don't think this should be a spur of the moment thing. We don't want to get caught, especially you. I think that is saying good-bye to that prefect badge."

Kevin started to laugh. "But it would have to go to one of us, and we're all going to be there. They can't hold that against him if all six of us there."

"That is true," I said.

"Well, maybe I'll stay behind then," Philip said with a grin and wink at me.

"Go ahead," I said. "You're in line with it as well."

"I don't want to be prefect," Philip replied. "You deserve that badge. I won't say no to it, but I don't care that much about it either. Out of the six of us, you are a shoo in. We all know Tasha is a shoo in for the girl prefect, although Samaira is close behind."

"Could you imagine if Gretchen got that badge?" Ivan asked.

"I'd turn the badge in, and you'd have to deal with it Philip," I said with a smile.

"Actually, I think Darren is before me. His marks have gotten better this year," Philip laughed and Darren made a face.

"Guess I'll have to slack off," Darren said.

"Seriously though," Nick said. "We need to plan this out so no one is caught. This is the riskiest thing we've ever done. I mean we brewed the potion to try and get our names in, but this is bigger. So we need to all be on the look out."

"Too bad we didn't have Potter's cloak," Philip said with a sigh. "It cover us. Talk to the older kids, and we'll go from there. They won't be rats will they?"

"No," I said quickly. "The most they'll do is refuse to help us."

Philip just nodded and then climbed into bed. I climbed into bed moments later thinking. I did want to do something risky. Maybe a night out would help me feel better. I just wished I knew why it hurt so much.

The next day, we were sitting in the common room discussing this. Most students had gone home for Easter, so we didn't have to worry about being overheard. We had a seat right by the fire for once. While we were talking, we were playing Exploding Snap. Nick had talked to my cousins early that morning, and they'd told him that they would think about it.

"I think they just want to make me sweat," Nick said. "I doubt Ralph really cares. I've heard him talk about the times they've snuck in."

"Well, I just hope you're careful," Tasha said. "You'll have to take the aging potion after you get there too. John told me it takes about an hour to get through that passage."

"Too bad we didn't know disillusionment charm. I don't think we learn that for a couple years," Ivan said with a sigh. "It's going to take a lot for all of us to get into that statue. It's going to look suspicious for six third years to be around there."

"It's why we need the older kids for a look out," Darren said. "If we can have a few people as look outs-"

He stopped and then glanced at me uneasily. I wasn't sure what that look was about, but everyone was now staring at something behind me. I turned to see Brenda, who had decided to stay for the Easter holidays standing behind me.

"A look out for what?" She asked as she took an empty seat at the table.

"Nothing," I said quickly.

"Well, you're all obviously up to something," she said with a smile. "What can I do to help?"

"To help?" I repeated.

"Yes, what do you need a look out for?" Brenda asked.

"This isn't some kind of trick is it?" Nick asked her with a frown. "Only your track record isn't the best."

Brenda sighed and then shrugged.

"I'm not going to rat anyone out. I'm not going to do that anymore," she said. "Well, I can't make any promises about that depending on what you do in the future. What I mean is, it won't be over stupid stuff anymore. I kind of… well, I had a bit of a wake up call."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Kendra is my best and only friend. She did something stupid, and I told on her, and she almost ended the friendship," Brenda replied. "So, unless it's something major, I am not going to say or do anything. I will do my best to mind my own business. That doesn't mean I'm not going to stop looking out for Brianne or Benny though. I have to be careful someday if I'm made prefect though."

"And if it involves sneaking into Hogsmeade to cheer your brother up?" Nick asked.

"Then I should be there to help you lot sneak in," Brenda said. "I want to be there for you Barry, and if it means breaking a school rule, then I will do it. What do you lot plan to do while you're there though?"

"Just have a few drinks," I told her. "We just want to have a boys night is all. And if the cousins don't help, I suppose we could use Tasha and Brenda as look outs. Perhaps Luna would help too."

"But the most you could drink is butterbeer," Brenda said with a frown.

"Unless you have aging potion," Ivan said. "At least that's what we're going to try to do."

"Where did you get-" she began and then she looked at me and raised her eyebrows. "It's from when you lot were going to try and get in the tournament?" I nodded. "Hmm, well I've heard the Hogshead is probably your best bet then."

"Okay, who are you and where is my sister?" I asked her as I stared at her.

She was going to help us break in and she was giving us advice.

"Like I said, I had a wake up call," Brenda said. "I couldn't stand it if I ever lost Kendra and I thought about everything that happened with you and me and Benny and Brianne," and then she glanced at Tasha. "And even you Tasha. I can't make any promises that I won't always be like this, because if I am really against something, I have to stop you. I'll do what I have to stop you. I am not against this, especially since I know you've been so sad. If sneaking into Hogsmeade helps you feel better, well I'll help."

"I didn't mean to tell on you Brenda," Tasha said. "I really didn't. I just blurted when I shouldn't have. I regretted it but I was also very angry about Luna."

"You were doing what you felt was right just as I do what I feel is right," Brenda told her. "You and me will probably never be good friends, but you are my brothers best friend so I will make an effort for him. I've ratted people out for less, and I realized I was becoming someone I didn't want to be. I don't know why I even did."

"Well, it's the best we can hope for," I said. "But if I find out this is all a lie and I'm in trouble for all this-"

"Then you'll have every right to ignore me for a long time," she said. "But I won't. I promise. I'm going to do my best to look away as much as I can from now on. I will be watching out for Brianne next year though, but I promise I won't be like I have with you with her."

"Okay, so moving on," Kevin said. "If we have Tasha and Brenda on board, we may be able to pull this off."

"You have us too," Chester said as him and Ralph came over to join us. "On the condition we come with you. We'd like a night out as well, and we'd like to make sure the six of you are okay. We're seventeen anyway. So, even if you lot do take that potion, the barman does check for ID when we get alcohol. If the two of us get the drinks though, he won't think twice when we join you."

"We just need you two to be look outs for Filch, Mrs. Norris, Peeves… and probably any other ghosts," Ralph said to Brenda and Tasha. "We just need you two to stand at either end of the corridor. Just start coughing as loud as you can if you see or hear something."

"Okay, but what about when you lot want to come back?" Brenda asked. "I imagine you'll be out after curfew. What if you're caught then."

"Well, that's easy," Ralph said. "I'm a prefect and I caught six third year boys out."

"And what if we have to lose house points of we're in detention?" Philip asked.

"I'm planning to make you lot write lines and be in bed early," Ralph said. "We can get out of that easily. I mean, it's not as if the teachers will check you're in bed early. All you have to do is write one line and I can duplicate it over and over again. I've done this before and we weren't questioned. However, if I can I want to just put disillusionment charm on all of you lot. It will be dark, so we should be able to get back to the common room if we're careful."

"And you'd better not be lying," Chester added to Brenda.

"She's not lying," Tasha said. "She looked straight at us when she told us. If she was lying, she would be staring at the ground. She always does when she lies."

"How did you know that?" Brenda asked her.

"The amount of times I've seen you lie," Tasha explained. "You promised me you'd stop stealing Luna's stuff, but you stared at the ground when you did it and then her stuff disappeared."

Ralph frowned at Brenda now.

"Don't steal from Luna. I am really getting tired of hearing about that girls stuff going missing. I never thought it would be my own cousin. Don't do it anymore. If I find out you've done it again, I will put you in detention," he said to her.

"I haven't for a while," Brenda said. "But we should really be planning this so you lot aren't caught. So, what is the plan? What time are we doing this?"

"Well, I was thinking about seven," Chester began.

The first part of the plan went without hitch. Chester and Ralph thought it was best the six of us went in before they did. It wouldn't look as suspicious if two six years, one a prefect, was walking back and forth in that corridor. Brenda and Tasha did as planned and stood on opposite ends to watch out for anyone, even other students. I was the last to go in and I thought I heard Brenda have a coughing fit. So I slid down quickly.

The six of us were to walk either way all the way to the end. Since it was us that really wanted to go, Chester and Ralph were willing to hang back until the coast was clear. Their curfew was later, and Ralph could always lie and say he was watching the corridor with Chester. It wasn't the first time the two had patrolled together.

"Wonder who was coming," Ivan whispered as we made our way through.

"Hopefully someone who won't linger," Philip muttered.

"I just hope it's not all a lie from Brenda," Nick said. "I'm still surprised."

"Me too, but I think I should give her the benefit of the doubt. If I keep doubting her then she might not be willing to change because I am not giving her the chance too. I think she was sincere though," I said. "Part of it I think is pity but it's fine. She was the first one who was there for me after all. Out of all the people, it was her. So I am going to trust her this time. If she proves to be a rat, I'll know better in the future."

"There is truth in that and I think she is telling the truth," Kevin said. "So lets not worry unless we have to. I just hope Chester and Ralph aren't held up too long."

We walked through the tunnel for a very long time. It was very cold and though I was wearing my winter cloak, I shivered. My feet were freezing as well. I paused for a moment to put the warming charm on myself.

"We have to be almost there," Nick said as he too did the same. "It feels like it's almost been an hour doesn't it?"

"I think we have another fifteen minutes," Darren said. "Do you think your cousins were caught?"

"Maybe," I said. "They're taller than us, so they should have caught up by now."

"So how long should we wait for them?" Philip asked. "They said to wait for us at the end."

"I'd say about ten minutes," Ivan answered. "If they don't show after ten, we need to just get out on our own."

So we continued to walk. Soon the tunnel started to slope upwards, and then we reached some stone steps. We began to climb. At first I hoped that it would be a quick climb, but that wish went away very soon. It seemed they went on forever. I could hear Kevin muttering as we made our way up. We had staircase in Hogwarts of course, but they never lasted this long. Finally though, I felt my head hit something.

"Well, we're here," I said as I rubbed my head.

"Good," Philip said. "I just need to sit for a second."

"Guess we all can while we wait," Nick said. "At least we have time to catch our breath."

The boys all sat down. I stood for a moment before I too sat. I began to wonder if they were coming. Wouldn't we be able to hear them? Our voices had echoed in the tunnel, so I figured we would have heard them even if they were far away. I figured they must not not have been coming, but as I thought this, I heard echoing footsteps and some far off laughter. About two minutes later, they both appeared with grins on their faces.

"Did you get caught?" I asked.

"No," Ralph answered. "Let us just sit down for a second."

"I thought I heard Brenda coughing," I said as the two of them sat down.

"Yes, she got caught but she wasn't out after curfew," Chester said. "It was Filch, and he wanted to know why she was standing there. Didn't even notice us. She made up some story about Peeves chasing her, and that she'd been trying to catch her breath. Told him he went in the opposite direction, so Filch went looking. We figured we'd give it a few minutes anyway, and then we slipped inside. Guess she really is sincere after all. She'd probably be a good rule breaker if it weren't for the fact she's so uptight."

"I swear there are times when she wants to let herself have fun, but it's like she feels she can't," Ralph said. "I remember I used to feel that way, but I let myself go. Maybe there is hope for her after all."

"Let's not worry about that now," I said. "I want to get to the Hogshead. Should we take the potion now?"

"No," Ralph said. "Wait until we're out of Honeydukes. It could take some time getting out. They'll be closed after all, and we don't want to cause any alarms to go off."

"There are alarms?" Darren asked. "Is that why you wanted to come with us?"

"Partly," Chester said. "And there may not be any now. We haven't gone down this year, but last year they did because of Sirius Black you know. They may have them turned off now. We needed the Weasley's help to get through it and we remember it. You have to use lumos first to make sure nothing is on. The light penetrates the barriers and we just shut them off. It's an easy spell. I think they believed Sirius wouldn't have a wand, so they expected him to walk through the barriers."

"Would you have told us this if you hadn't come with us?" Nick asked and Ralph nodded.

"Of course. Even if we didn't come we'd help," Chester said. "I'm just glad you lot were smart enough to come to us. Okay, so we'll go in first. You'll wait in the celler and we'll whistle when we are ready for you."

Once we were in the cellar, the six of us moved around to explore the crates while Chester and Ralph went upstairs. It wasn't long before we heard the two of them whistling for us to come up. We hurried up the steps and into the dark shop.

"Just don't touch anything," Chester said. "Even with the alarms off, they likely still have everything protected when they aren't here. Sometimes I think they know about the passage in the cellar and they leave it be for kids to get to Hogsmeade. Other than last year, they've never had a lot of alarms and it's a basic charm to unlock the door from the inside. We just need to leave it unlocked, and even then nothing happens when you enter back. You lot take the potion once we're outside the Hogshead. You need it to last as long as possible."

I thought luck was on our side that night. The streets were empty. I'd heard many places in Hogsmeade were booked because of the Tournament. I would have thought that a lot of people would be out and about. It was just twenty after eight. The streets should have still been bustling of adult witches and wizards. We headed down the side street where the Hogshead was, and then the six of pulled out our vials of potion.

Chester took my vial and examined it.

"This is really good for a third year," he told me.

"It was easy to make," I told him.

"Really? Half our class had a hard time with it," Ralph told me. "Are all of you fourteen now? This should make you at least eighteen."

"I'm not fourteen until May," Darren said. "Everyone else is fourteen. Today is Ivan's birthday."

"Really?" Chester said with interest. "Hmm guess some firewhiskey for you. Either way, I think there is enough for all of you to be at least eighteen in these. Even if your birthday isn't until next month. A month won't make a difference I don't believe. Go on, drink those before someone comes."

The potion actually had a pleasant fruity taste to it. I supposed it was the wine and the prune juice. It was thick and though it should have been cold, it was room temperature. I found this a bit odd but I didn't give it too much thought.

Nothing happened at first. We all stood looking around at each other. We were all still clearly fourteen. Maybe I hadn't made it right, or else it had expired. As I thought this though, I felt myself suddenly shoot up. It was very painful too. I let out a yelp. Around me, the others were experiencing changes as well. I'd always looked up to Chester and Ralph, but I was now slightly taller than them. I was the tallest out of everyone.

"Blimey this is weird," Ralph said staring at me with wide eyes.

I looked around at the others. They could all be seventeen.

"Guess this is how we're going to look in a few years," Nick said as he examined himself. He wasn't much shorter than me, maybe a couple inches. Kevin was the shortest. He was about an inch shorter than Chester who had never really been that tall. At my normal height, I went up to his shoulders.

"Guess I don't get that much taller," Kevin said.

"Well, we should get inside before it wears off," Ralph said. "I have to admit, I am very impressed Barry. Guess I know how you're going to look in a few years and I am jealous. If you get girls now, wait until you're eighteen."

I couldn't help it, but I wanted to look in the mirror at myself. So while the others went and got a table, I headed straight for the mens room. I knew soon the others would follow, but it would look odd for six of us to go at the same time. They were likely all going to take turns to come in. I figured they all knew it was fair for me to see myself first since I'd brewed the potion.

I'd never been to the Hogshead, but it was a dirty sort of pub. I don't think the barman had ever cleaned it. The floor was packed with dirt, and I thought it was from centuries of witches and wizards tracking it in and not from the barman putting it there himself. Even in the bathroom it was dirty. I glanced around and wrinkled my nose in disgust. It stunk and I wondered if he'd ever cleaned the bathroom. Apparently this place got steady business and I didn't understand why. It was just a very dirty place. Why would people come here?

I went straight for a mirror and stared at myself. I thought I looked like a very young version of my dad. I hated to sound conceited, but Ralph was right. I was very attractive. I touched my face where there was some stubble even. I knew at my real age that I should have been growing hair soon, but I didn't know how soon. By eighteen I would. I liked what I saw though.

"See you in a few years," I muttered to my reflection before I turned and left.

When I got to the table, I saw that there was half a bottle of firewhiskey and several shot glasses.

"No problems then?" I asked.

"No problems," Chester answered.

Ralph poured us all some shots. I already felt better, and I thought it was the risk of sneaking into Hogsmeade that helped. Through out the hour there, we made our way through the bottle. The other boys went into the bathroom to check themselves out. I think they were all happy with what they saw, especially Darren. At fourteen, he was so awkward looking, and not too attractive but he would age well by the time he hit eighteen.

"I'm looking forward to being eighteen," He said. "Girls will finally notice me."

"We should be leaving," Chester said as we drained the last of the bottle.

"We can hang out in Hogsmeade but that potion is going to wear off. You lot need to sober up a bit anyway."

I thought he was right about that. I had trouble even standing up. I had to hang on to Nick who wasn't doing all that well himself. Chester and Ralph seemed to be fine, but us third years weren't doing too well. We stumbled out of the pub and outside where we all had to sit down again.

Chester and Ralph knelt down in front of us with cups water they had conjured.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have let them drink so much," Chester said to Ralph.

"They'll be fine," Ralph replied. "We've all been through this. You lot need to drink this, and then we're going to move down a bit. We can all still sit, but we don't want to be caught like this."

I could feel the potion wearing off by this point. After I drank the water, I tried to stand up but I was so unsteady. Everything seemed to be spinning. Why weren't Chester or Ralph like this? Had they drank this much Firewhiskey before? Chester grabbed my arm as I slumped up against the wall.

"Maybe you should let a little longer mate," he said.

"Is that Barry?" I heard someone ask.

Startled, I looked over. Who had noticed me? Someone outside of Hogwarts? The voice sounded familiar. What if it was a friend of- but the person came into focus. It was the one person whom I didn't want to see at the moment. Four people I didn't want to see at the moment in fact. The one who had spoken was staring at me in concern.

"Is he okay?" Glenda asked.

"Just a bit much to drink," Chester told her. "You oughta go on. You're the last person-"

Suddenly I threw up. It felt as if everything I had drank, well, everything I had eaten in fact was coming up. I had to give credit to my cousin. He held on to me while I threw up. Glenda who would normally be disgusted by this kind of thing didn't even flinch either. She and her friends came over to check on my friends as well. Why did she have to be so sweet? It was an odd thing to think about while I was throwing up, but I did wonder that.

By the time I was done, I felt almost sober again. Chester hadn't let me go, and once it seemed I was done, he vanished all my sick from the pavement.

"Going to be okay mate?" He asked me.

"I think so," I said as I wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve.

"Barry," Glenda said approaching me now. "You're not doing this because of me are you?"

"No, we just wanted a boys night," I lied. "It's the Easter holidays and we still had our aging potions. We wanted to test them out."

"Where is Tasha?" John asked.

"Boys night," Nick said as he got to his own feet. He was as unsteady as I had been. I wondered if he'd be the next to throw up.

"She didn't want to come anyway," I said.

"Guess that explains why the door was unlocked," Lance said. "Do us a favour if you're going back, just leave it unlocked please."

"We'll leave a mark, and you can too," Ralph said. "We'll leave a red one. I might get this lot to walk around a bit more before we return. Might actually need some food, especially since Barry just threw up a days worth."

Just as he said this, we heard more retching. This time is was coming from Darren, and then it was like a chain reaction because the rest of them began as well. I felt a little nauseous myself, so I moved where I couldn't hear them. I heard high heels following me and assumed it had to be Glenda. I turned to tell her that I didn't need her pity only to see it was Anita.

"What do you want?" I asked as I sat down on a bench.

"Just to make sure you're okay," she said.

"I'm fine," I said.

I looked over to where everyone else was still. They were all checking up on the people who were throwing up. I looked back at Anita. I had to know. It would make me feel better to know if she'd schemed behind my back. So I took a deep breath and then told her my suspicions in a low voice in case the others were listening.

"Of course not Barry," Anita whispered. "I guess I can understand why you think that, but of course not. I've been in love with Lance for a long time Barry. It's been so hard for me to see them together. Especially since… well, Lance and I did things together. It was a friends with benefits kind of thing, even before the dance. Now, he's with Glenda. I could never have helped with get with her even if she is my best friend. Right now, I have to be a good friend. I went with you to help you because I wanted to get to know Glenda's boyfriend and I didn't want to be stuck studying with just those two. Of course, they never did anything… so don't worry about that. It's just I could see the way they looked at each other. Everything I've told you is the truth."

I stared at her. She looked so sad and I believed she had to be telling the truth. I was going to say it, but I thought Lance was a git. He basically used this girl in front of me, even if she'd agreed to it. I think he'd taken advantage of her feelings and he knew even before she'd told him how she'd felt. If he really wanted a friends with benefits, he could have gone for any girl, but he'd chosen the one that was in love with him. I said this all to her and she shrugged.

"I think he knew too, but I took what I could get," she said. "Maybe soon I'll meet someone else and move on."

"Well, I hope you do," I told her.

"If it's okay, I'd like to study with you more. Maybe with Tasha and Nick too. I mean, John and Tasha are still happy together and I don't want to be a third wheel," Anita said. "It really is refreshing. I just hope you're okay."

"I am," I said and it wasn't a lie this time. "I really am okay now. I think I needed tonight. I know I'm not going to mope around anymore, and I hope you don't either. You have OWLs coming up."

"Trust me I know. It's why I've been hanging out with other fifth years and maybe with you lot too," she told me. "I'm hoping they get past this honeymoon stage soon."

"Give it another month," I said. "And I lied to Glenda you know. Tonight was about getting over her, and I think I really am. I don't know what it is. I just feel better about it now."

"Anita!" Lance called. "We're going inside. Are you coming?"

"I'll meet you inside," she called back before looking back at me. "I do hope we can stay friends Barry. I'll see you later."

"Bye," I called after her.

Ralph walked over to sit with me once she walked off.

"Going to go for the friend?" He asked as he nudged and grinned at me.

"No," I answered. "Nice girl, but no. I'm not really looking for anyone at the moment. I think after a few days I am just going to take Ivan's advice and just snog around until I meet someone. I do feel better. I don't know why."

"I think you just needed a reckless night," Ralph said. "I should have thought of it earlier. Garth did the same for me. I just didn't think you were that attached to her."

"I don't think I ever was," I said. "I think it bothered me so much because of the shock value, and just that it felt insulting too. I mean, at the same time I knew it was coming but it still felt awful. It was just losing the girl that way. Now seeing them together like that, it doesn't even make me sad."

"Well, I am glad you're feeling better than mate," Ralph said. "We were getting worried about you."

"If that hurt, then what does real heartbreak feel like?" I asked him.

"We'll be here all night," Ralph said.

"Well, it looks like we have time," I said as I nodded in the direction of my sick friends. "Go on."

"Well, last year…" and Ralph began the story of his first love and his first heartbreak.


	23. End of Third Year

When term started, I felt loads better. I felt back to myself, and I'd even seen Lance and Glenda around the corridors many times. Somehow it seemed they were meant to be together. It went from being a pang of hurt to indifference.

It was now warm out, so we began spending a lot of our time outside studying by the lake. Luna was practicing Tarot readings with many people around the common room in preparation for our exam. She was quite good with reading people too. Usually people found her to be barmy, but several sat down and let her read for them.

I was supposed to be practicing my own of course, but I let her for me too. She didn't find anything for me to worry about. According to her (which had been in everyone's reading) I would suffer from a great devastating shock, but otherwise I'd be pleased with the way my year would end, and my summer would mostly be pleasant.

"What do you think this great shock is supposed to be though?" I asked Nick one afternoon as we went through Charms out by the lake.

"It's Luna," he reminded me.

"She was right in her other readings," I said. "She has said there is a big devastating shock for everyone she has read for, even for herself."

"Maybe my break up," he said with a shrug. "But what else could anyone be shocked about?"

"What do you mean your break up?" I asked.

"Ruby and I broke up," he replied. "She told me last night. Said it was fun while it lasted but there is another bloke she likes."

"You seem oddly calm. I was crying into my Firewhiskey and you're here practising charms," I said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I have now," he said. "And I've been wanting to end it for a while. She's a nice girl, but she is very anti-Gryffindor. It's not the friendly house rivalry we have. It's like she has started to listen to her more intense housemates or something. She kept going on about how Glenda was proof of that. Ironic since she did the same to me. Anyway, I've wanted to end it since the Easter holidays but I didn't know how. She did it for me, so I feel more relieved than anything. Last night I did feel a bit put out. It's why I went to bed early, but today I feel great."

"So we're single again then," I said. "Maybe we can starting double dating or something. Although right now I think I am going to do what Ivan said I should."

"I'm thinking the same," Nick said as he stretched. "And next year we'll be fourth years."

"Wait until we're seventh years," I said. "We're going to look good and the girls will be all over us."

Nick started to laugh and he shook his head.

"We may need to find away to bottle that egotism. We could pass it around to anyone with no self-confidence," Nick told me.

"I said the same for you as well," I said laughing as well.

"What are you two laughing at?"

We looked up to see that Tasha had joined us. She was smiling. She walked over and sat down with us, still smiling.

"Hoofer here has quite the ego," Nick told her.

"Still going on about how hot he looked in Hogsmeade?" She asked.

"Well, I did look good," I said. "And so did Nick."

"You two already look good. So I imagine you two will get even better looking. You'll be fighting off the girls over the next few years I expect," she said.

"We'll have to look out for you as well… or John will I guess," Nick said.

"Not for much longer," Tasha said. "I am breaking up with him soon. He's a nice bloke, but I just don't feel it anymore. At first I was excited because you know, I had a boyfriend but now the novelty has wore off. I'm just waiting until after his exams. I don't want to drop that bomb on him before he has to do his OWLs. He does like me a lot after all. I think I'll do it at the end of the school year."

"Well don't tell him that," I said. "It hurts knowing that someone is doing you that kind of favour. You haven't been pulling away or anything?"

"No, I've been the same. I know what it was like for you and Glenda," Tasha said. "I'm being the same girl until I am ready to break the news. So let's study, our exams are so very soon."

Brenda and Kendra started to join us more often while we studied. Brenda even gave us all study time tables, and I had to hand it to her, they really did work. It was a perfect distraction, and she even gave us all a night off to relax. The exams were supposed to end the same day as the final task. So it would be a nice end to the school year I supposed.

Anita had continued to help us study and she was a lot of help as well, especially with Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. We wished her and John luck when it was time for them to sit their OWLs. They wished us luck too. I had to give it to Tasha, she remained the dutiful girlfriend even though she wasn't happy with John anymore.

I felt that I did really well on all of my exams, even Herbology. I was sure that I'd even scored top marks on Arithmancy. Nick told me that it if it hadn't for Anita and John, he might not have done as well either. It was relief when the day of the final task came and our last exam, which was Transfiguration was finally there. One exam, then we could watch the task and then relax for the year.

"And poor Johnny will be heartbroken tomorrow," Nick joked at breakfast to Tasha. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"I haven't," she said. "I needed him to get through his exams and that's it. Just don't be weird around him please."

"We haven't yet," I told her as I took a letter from Hooty, our owl who'd just arrived.

I felt relieved she was ending her relationship, and I couldn't explain why.

I opened the envelope to find that it was from my parents, and Brianne and Benny. Benny and Brianne wanted me to send a lot of pictures while my parents letter was the usual about how they hoped I did well on exams, and they would see me very soon. Of course Brianne's letter ended with her talking about being at Hogwarts so soon.

"Do you have your camera still?" I asked Tasha. "My family want pictures."

"Of course I do," she said. "Don't worry, I'll take them but I wonder what the task is. I hope it's more interesting than the second one. All we did was stare at the lake."

"I wonder if one of the other schools will win," Nick said. "Remember Luna has said everyone is going to suffer a great shock? That's the only thing I can think of. If she is right, what else could we be shocked by? She was right when she said I'd do well on exams, or at least I feel I did. She must be right about this too."

"Divination is so useless," Tasha said. "I bet she is just taking a page from Professor Tralawney's book. She does well because she knows the meaning of the cards and she can read people. Both Barry and Luna said you saw nothing in the Crystal Balls for your exams."

"Yes, well that is Barry," Nick said.

"Luna said she didn't see anything either," Tasha said. "She said she was good with tea leaf reading, and palmistry and tarot but not the crystal balls. She told me she made it all up."

"Wish I'd thought of that," I said. "I don't know how my marks will be for it. I just told her I figured it was going to be foggy. Couldn't think of anything else. But oh well, if I fail I'll drop it."

"Good plan," Tasha said. "You should anyway. Now let's go. We can study on our way to Transfiguration. We have about ten minutes."

"And so very soon we'll be free," Nick said grinning.

"Are you having the pool party this year?" Darren asked as he joined us. "You didn't last year."

"Possibly," I said. "I'll talk to my parents when I get home. Last year we didn't because of the World Cup, but there isn't anything happening this summer as far as I know."

"Great," Ivan said. "We missed that last year, and the girls are more grown up if you know what I mean."

"That's gross," Tasha said,

"Like you don't notice blokes," Philip said. "I bet you imagine that John guy all the time."

"Oh shut up!" She said but she was smiling.

The Transfiguration class was already open when we got there. I wasn't sure if Professor McGonagall would allow us some extra study time or not. Last year she hadn't been there already, and the year before, we hadn't had exams. When we entered, it was to find that it was still empty. She had all the desks already all spaced out. I took a desk in the middle, and then pulled out my notes. I decided to look through the spells that had given me the most problems first. Just as I was reading through the first spell, Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Books away class," she said. "The exam is about to begin."

Through out the day, people talked about some article that had appeared in the Daily Prophet about Harry Potter. Tasha had managed to get a copy at lunch, and we sat in the court yard reading it together. Apparently he'd collapsed in his Divination class because his scar hurt, and Rita wrote that it could mean that his brains were addled. Draco Malfoy even gave an interview about how Harry was a parseltongue.

"I'm surprised it has taken this long to come out," Nick said. "But I don't understand why she wants to make it seem like he's mad. There could be many reasons for why he collapsed. I heard about that happening, but I didn't give it much thought."

"Well, no one has ever survived that curse," I interjected. "Who knows, maybe it has been hurting him ever since."

"I just can't believe they're doing it today of all days," Tasha said. "She really wants to make him lose. At first she was all excited about him, and now it seems she has turned against him."

"Apparently they had a shouting match in The Three Broomsticks," Nick said. "It's why that article came out against Hermione Granger too. It's Rita's way of getting revenge. I guess by publishing that article today, she hoped to make him nervous and for everyone to root for someone else."

"Well, I am still rooting for him," I said. "I've been on his side since after the first task. It would be nice to see someone win against all odds. Besides, if it was Karkaroff who put his name in the Goblet, he'll be kicking himself."

"Has your parents written anything else to you about that?" Tasha asked and I shook my head.

"No, they didn't even say anything when Barty Crouch disappeared in the grounds. I think they just assume that I'll remember what they said, and I have. I have no reason to talk to that man so I haven't."

"There hasn't even been anything else about that," Nick said.

"I don't think the Ministry wants it to be too well known," I said. "They tend to hide things. They don't want people scared, and there are already rumours about You-Know-Who. Dad told me they'll do anything to hide the truth so there isn't a panic. I mean, I bet You-Know-Who could be back with lots of evidence and they'd still hide it."

"But you don't think he is back?" Tasha asked.

"No," I said. "It is all just rumours. If he comes back, he'll do it secretly I bet. We won't know right away and it probably won't be for a long time anyway. My parents don't want me to worry about it, so I won't."

"Same here," Nick said. "All the mad stuff is just a coincidence likely."

The task didn't start until after dinner, so we had to wait all day. Everyone talked excitedly. Tasha had disappeared for a while, but then caught up with us as we were getting ready to go outside.

"Where were you?" Nick asked her as we descended the steps with everyone.

"Breaking up with John," she replied. "We're done exams. He didn't want it to end, and he even tried to convince me he could change but I said no. I only just got away, but I did manage to grab my camera," she added to me.

We were headed this time to the Quidditch Pitch, which Ludo Bagman had announced about five minutes before. I didn't think we'd get as good of seats this time since there was a rush. Most people were already claiming the top, and when I saw the Gryffindor fifth years making their way up, I motioned for my friends to go in another direction. Tasha looked around to see why, and when she saw them she moved even quicker. John was staring at us, and he looked sad. We made our way to the other side towards the middle. Relationships were more complicated than I thought. How did people reach my parents point anyway?

We sat down by a few Hufflepuff third years. Once we were seated, we were able to take in what the third task would be. What had been the Quidditch Pitch was now a giant maze. This time I was a bit jealous. I'd always wanted to go through a maze, and I remembered Tasha mentioning how she used to go through one back in our first year. I glanced at her.

"Oh now I wish I were a champion," she said. "I bet I could get through that no problem!"

"They'll probably have to fight things as well," Nick told her. "I don't think it's just navigating through it and getting out first. There will be all sorts of enchantments and creatures they have to get past."

"Still looks like fun though," she said. "But the hedges look so big. Do you think we'll even see what is going on in there? It looks like it's going to be so dark."

"Might just see spells performed," I said. "I think you're right."

Around us, people were taking bets on who was going to win. The Hufflepuff's we'd sat by were of course cheering on Cedric Diggory. I was still cheering on Harry Potter. Many people were saying that Cedric and Harry may even try and tie for a Hogwarts win.

Ludo Bagman soon began commentating. We could barely see the people on the grounds, but I thought I could make Harry out. Cedric and Harry went in first, and then Krum and lastly Fleur Delacore. At the moment I was wishing I had my omnioculars but I'd left them at home. If I had them, I'd likely be able to see inside the maze. At it was, all we could see was when someone used a spell once and a while. We just had to wait for one of them to get to the center of the maze and reach the cup. Whoever touch the cup would be transported outside the maze.

It wasn't long before we heard screaming. Soon Fleur Delacore was out of the running, and it was just down to Krum and the Hogwarts champions. It didn't seem long after that before Krum ended up being out of the running as well. So it was just down to Harry and Cedric. The Hufflepuff's near us were getting louder by that point.

"I think they should just tie for the cup," Nick said.

"Cedric would probably suggest that," Tasha said. "He's such a nice bloke. You know, I heard that he and Harry have actually been helping each other through out the task. Now that they know they're the last two, perhaps they will."

"Maybe they'll let us try out the maze," I said. "You know, it's not going to disappear that quick and the school year is almost over."

"That'd be great," Tasha said happily. "We'll ask your cousin later. Maybe he can suggest it to the teachers. I mean, why not? As long as they get rid of the enchantments inside, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Then you can show us your expertise," Nick said to her.

"You've seen some of it," she said with a wink.

It was a long time before something finally happened. For the longest time we were all just staring at the maze. The crowd was just talking, the Hufflepuff's and the Gryffindors being the loudest bunch. They all knew that one of them was going to have a big party that night. And then finally, there was a flash of blue light and it looked as if two figures appeared. So they had tied for the cup!

Everyone began cheering. We all jumped up and tried to make our way down, but it wasn't long before it seemed something wasn't right. There was some shouting.

"Something isn't right," Tasha said stating the obvious.

"He's dead! Cedric Diggory is dead!" Someone shouted.

"What are they saying?" Nick asked.

I felt chilled even though it was a warm evening. It had to be a joke. Someone wanted to have a laugh, but as we got closer to the ground, I saw that wasn't the case. Many students were wailing. I could see Harry, and he looked hurt. Something wasn't right, and there was Diggory not moving on the ground. I felt Tasha clutch my arm hard.

Terrified screams filled the air. Mad-Eye Moody pulled Harry away. What had happened in the maze to hurt him? What had killed Cedric? What had they encountered in there. A worse scream than any of the students filled the air. Cedric's father had appeared by his sons side.

"All students, slowly and carefully make your way back to your common rooms immediately," Dumbledore called out. "Do not stop, please just go straight to your common rooms immediately!"

No one moved at first, but then the prefects began calling for their houses. Tasha still hung onto my arm as we moved our way through the crowds. Some of the Hufflepuff's didn't want to go. I saw Cho Chang sobbing hysterically as her friends tried to stop her from running to Cedric.

"What do you think happened?" Nick asked as we finally made our way through. "What killed him? What happened to Harry?"

"I don't even want to know," Tasha said tearfully and she finally let go of my arm.

"No wonder they didn't want younger kids doing it," I said. "But what are they playing at? Whatever was in there was too dangerous! It killed a kid!"

"I'm not even going to be able to sleep tonight," Tasha said.

I didn't think anyone would be able to. It took a while to get to the common room, even with the secret passage. When we did get in there, it was packed full. No one wanted to go to bed, and the prefects didn't tell anyone to go. All the sixth years were sitting together and some were crying. I could see Ralph and Chester looking very pale. They had been in the same year as Diggory after all.

"I want to write to mum and dad what happened," I said. "Do you think anyone will stop me from going to the owlery?"

"Not likely," Nick said as we gazed around the room. "I think I will too."

We both pulled out a piece of parchment and then began writing to our parents about the events of tonight. It was better for them to hear it from us and not in the Prophet. Rita Skeeter could twist this somehow to her liking. I was willing to be that she would put the blame on Harry somehow. He didn't look good though, and he'd brought Cedric back. There was no way it was his fault.

When we got up to leave the common room, it was as suspected, no one paid any attention to us. Even as we made our way through the corridors to the owlery, we didn't meet up with any teachers or prefects. I figured they were all occupied however.

"Remember Luna?" Nick said as we tied our letters to a pair of owls. "She said we'd all suffer from a huge shock. She predicted this."

"That is scary," Tasha agreed. "I'd forgotten all about that."

"Me too for a moment," I said. "How is it that she drew that card for everyone? It can't all just be guesswork right? Luna says that she she isn't a seer, but how can she really say that? She predicted this!"

Our owls took off, and we watched them take off for a moment before turning away from the window.

"Well, she said we'd all suffer a great disappointment," Nick said. "It's open to interpretation."

"Still," I said. "The two of you can no longer say that Divination is rubbish."

Nick leaned against the wall. "I just want to know what happened. I want to wake up tomorrow and find out that it was all a big joke or a misunderstanding."

"Same here," I said. "Maybe he was just stunned. Maybe with all the excitement people thought that he was dead, but he really isn't. I bet he recovering in the hospital wing right now with Harry. Tomorrow they'll announce that Hogwarts won."

"I hope you're right," Tasha said looking uncertain.

As we were about to leave, Professor Sinistra suddenly appeared. The three of us froze as she stared at us. She looked very unhappy, but I didn't think it was just because we were out after curfew.

"We had to tell our parents Professor," I said before she said anything. "We were just about to go back to our common room. We didn't want them to find out from some rubbish that Rita Skeeter wrote."

"Yes, well, lets get you back to your common room," she said. "Mr. Filch told me he saw three students come up here."

"How is Harry?" Nick asked. "Cedric isn't really dead is he? He was just knocked out, right?"

"Mr. Potter will be fine, but I am afraid Cedric is indeed dead. I don't know the details quite yet. We've just been asked to make sure everyone is back in their common rooms. I imagine tomorrow there will be more announcements," she told us looking tearful now. "It's not safe at the moment to be wandering around alone."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Why isn't it safe?"

"We'll let you know more tomorrow," she answered. "Professor Dumbledore will address the school."

"We're not in trouble are we?" Nick asked. "We needed to tell our parents."

"No," she answered. "I just want the three of you safe. I will walk you to the Ravenclaw stairwell. Please tell your fellow students not to leave for the rest of the evening. You should try and get some rest."

"It will be hard to sleep," I replied.

"I know," she said and I could tell she was trying hard not to cry. She was blinking very quickly.

She walked with us until we did reach our stairway. Once we were there, she bid us good-bye and then rushed off. The three of us looked at each other, and then headed up the steps. I had a horrible feeling.

The next few days were a blur. Dumbledore had requested that we don't talk to Harry about the events in the maze, so we didn't. I wanted to talk to Hermione, but I figured Dumbledore had put Ron and Hermione in the same category. Mainly people avoided the trio. Brenda was surprisingly quiet about the whole thing. For most of the year she'd been anti-Harry. I wasn't even sure when she had finally thrown away her Potter Stinks! badge. I didn't even know what she was thinking these days, or how Cedric's death had affected her.

"She's probably just as shocked as everyone else," Tasha said when I brought this up. "No one really knows what to say or do. I mean, what happened in that maze?"

"I thought you weren't interested?" Nick reminded her.

"I am now. The night it happened… well, I was shocked. I do want to know now," she said. "Everyone does. Look at the first years. They won't leave each others sides. They're terrified, not that I can blame them. I feel really scared too."

My parents letter a couple days later left me even more confused. They told me they'd heard rumours about Harry's story, but they were not going to say anything to any of us until we were home. They did not want us talking about it at school. I'd shown it to Nick and Tasha but neither understood either.

Finally, it was the last feast of the year. The Great Hall was decorated differently that year. Normally, it was decorated with the house winners colours. That year, there were black drapings all over the Hall to represent Cedric. Dumbledore had us all toast Cedric Diggory, which we all did, standing up to do this.

And then, Dumbledore said something that shocked all of us. He began by telling us what a great person Cedric had been. Then he said:

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

Around me, I heard people whispering anxiously. Some people didn't believe it. Some of the whispering came from my fellow third years. I could hear Philip whispering with the other boys that there was no way it was true. And yet, I believed it. Mum and dad had said in their letter that they hadn't wanted to tell me. This was likely why. It made sense. Hadn't Harry come back injured? Had he tried to save Diggory. I looked over at the Gryffindor table at Harry with new respect. He'd been through so much already.

Dumbledore confirmed my thoughts moments later by bringing Harry up. He explained that Harry had fought and escaped Voldemort, and then brought back Cedric's body. He asked everyone to stand up for him. It seemed a lot of people hesitated this time, though Tasha, Nick and I were quick to get to our feet. A lot of the Slytherin's didn't even stand up and I felt indignant about this, but then again, I realized they likely wouldn't want to. I hated to believe all the Slytherin prejudice but I noticed those who didn't stand had parents who were once accused of being Death Eaters, but had somehow wiggled their way out of Azkaban. To them, it was probably all a joke. I noticed Harper, a Slytherin in our year didn't stand either.

Dumbledore ended the feast by asking us all to remember Cedric Diggory and he let our Beaxbaton's and Durmstang guests were welcome at any time. They all looked very sad too. I felt awful myself, and not just over Cedric but by the fact that You-Know-Who was back. I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. Part of it was for selfish reasons, because I'd wanted to get a job that summer but also because it was scary to know he was back. What would he do? Would he come for our family? Were they already trying to recruit people? They'd tried to recruit mum and dad years ago.

I glanced at Tasha and Nick. They too looked fearful and sad.

The talk on the train was subdued. It was the three of us and Brenda and Kendra. I hadn't wanted to sit with my dorm mates that time. They all reckoned Harry was a liar, and at the moment I hated them for it. Why would he tell such a lie? Why would Dumbledore? The five us discussed this somewhat, but for the most part we were all lost in our thoughts.


	24. Summer Before Fourth Year

Mum and dad met us at the train station just on their own without Brianne or Ben. I figured they wanted to get Tasha, Brenda and me home as soon as possible. They both quite grim. It was a quick good-bye to Nick, though he promised to write, and he'd floo over when he could. Dad sent our trunks first, and then took Brenda and me home while mum took Tasha home.

When we got home, it was to find Benny and Brianne sitting side by side looking worried. Did they already know or was mum and dad waiting? They both jumped up when dad appeared with us to hug us both. Under different circumstances, I was sure Brianne would be all excited that in a couple months she'd be at Hogwarts, but right now she just seemed nervous.

"Did you tell them?" I asked dad.

"You know?" Dad asked me.

"Dumbledore told us last night," Brenda answered. "It's true isn't it?"

"Wait until your mum gets back. It's not the way I wanted you to find out, but I suppose I can't blame Dumbledore. We want all four of you to hear this together."

"Even me this time?" Benny asked.

"Yes, you're going to be nine, and I want all of you to be well aware of what is going on from this moment on," Dad answered him just as mum appeared with a loud pop. He turned to her. "Do you want to be the one to tell them, or me? Barry and Brenda already know. Dumbledore told them."

"You tell them," mum said looking weary. She sat down on the couch. Benny and Brianne sat on either side of her. I took a seat beside Benny, and Brenda sat in an armchair.

Dad then began telling us what we already knew. You-Know-Who was back, and he'd been the one to kill Cedric Diggory. Harry had fought him and had escaped. However, the Ministry didn't want to believe it. They were planning on doing everything they could to discredit both Harry and Dumbledore.

"Everything we tell you is the truth," dad told us. "Do not believe the Daily Prophet. We have our own sources. For now, I want all four of you to be on guard."

"Does this mean I can't get a job in Diagon Alley this year?" I asked.

"I think it should still be okay," mum said as she glanced at dad. "From what we've heard, he wants to remain underground. He isn't going to attack quite yet. He wants everyone to believe the lie that the Ministry is putting out. Just be on your guard Barry, and if you hear or see anything, you come home. If we tell you that you have to quit, there will be no arguments."

It was better than what I expected. I figured for sure mum more than dad wouldn't want me to work after this new information. I knew they'd be scared that something would happen to us. I still felt shocked and I still couldn't believe it. He was back. The Wizarding World we'd known would no longer be the same.

"How are you getting your information?" Brenda asked.

"We have our sources," dad said. "Friends from school who are still in contact with Dumbledore and his friends. We have full faith in our sources. The two of you, well, the three of you now should know that your peers will be divided. Already the Ministry is trying to discredit Dumbledore, and by the time you go back to school they may have succeeded. Many of your classmates won't believe he is back because their parents don't believe it."

"I can't believe he is back when I am supposed to start my first year," Brianne said. "Are you quite sure he is back. Maybe, maybe Harry only thought he saw it happen."

"How?" Brenda asked.

"Well, people can put images in his head with a spell. Maybe it was part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"But Dumbledore would know," I said. "He's back. We saw Harry when he came out of that maze. He looked awful."

"He's back," dad said. "And there is no point in pretending otherwise. I want the three of you to be on the look out next year. Watch who you talk to. Some of the kids you know may have parents who are Death Eaters."

"Well, that's easy," Brenda scoffed. "Avoid all Slytherins."

"Not all Slytherins are bad," I reminded her. "And it could be anyone in any of the houses. Remember Ruby? She's a girl in your year. You must know that she doesn't have those views."

"Yes, but she is one of the few," Brenda said. "Didn't you see at the final feast? A lot of the Slytherins didn't even stand up when Dumbledore brought up Harry."

"Doesn't mean anything," I said. "I'm not turning my back on one whole house. I know better than to just trust anyone, but it's not fair that all Slytherins are seen as future Death Eaters either."

"Barry is right," mum said. "I want you to be cautious but I also don't want you to accuse anyone. I want the three of you to do what you're supposed to be doing, and that's to learn magic. Please just pay attention to your studies and don't do anything stupid."

"You're not going to stop us from going to Hogsmeade will you?" Brenda asked. "Because I get to finally go."

"No," dad replied. "You two can still go," and then he turned to me. "Now, I'll have a look around for you Barry. Not too many people will hire a fourteen-year-old in Diagon Alley."

"All I know is I am not baby-sitting this year," I said. "Brianne or Brenda can."

"And we respect that," mum told me with a smile. "And Brianne has already volunteered though Brenda can too if she wants."

"Nope," Brenda said quickly. "Although it still annoys me that I had to be baby-sat at eleven but Brianne didn't."

"Brianne has proved herself to be more mature," dad told her. "And don't argue. You know it's true."

"Well, it keeps me from having to do it," Brenda said. "So I don't mind exactly but I am a little offended. I suppose you have a point though. I was a brat at that age. Well, I was a brat until recently."

"Recently?" Benny asked. "So you're not going to be mean anymore?"

"Let's just say I had a wake up call," Brenda told him with a smile. "As long as you don't annoy me, I won't bother you."

"Good, because you were awful at Christmas and I didn't even do anything wrong," Benny told her.

"Except go on and on about what a big boy you are… but, Barry pointed out I was the same way. So I'll try to be more understanding but just… I don't know, just don't rub it in my face," she told him. "I really don't care. As long as you don't act like a baby I won't treat you like one but I also don't need you tell me randomly either."

"Agreed," Benny said with a grin and then he turned to me. "When you're not working you will spend time with me right? I didn't see you all year and now all three of you will be gone."

"Of course Benny," I told him happily. "We can start off by unpacking my trunk together like we usually do, and then I'll tell you more about my year," and then I looked at mum and dad. "That is if we're done here."

"We'll talk more later," dad said. "And I'll look into finding something for you as well."

"I'm just so proud that you're about to get your first job," mum told me. "Your first real job away from home. We'll have to celebrate when your dad finds you something."

"Er, Barry?" Benny said as we got up. "I don't want to be called Benny anymore. Please call me Ben from now on."

I stared down at Benny in shock. I was the first person to ever call him Benny, and it had stuck all these years. Benjamin had always been a mouthful and he couldn't pronounce his name at first. So we'd called him Benny. After a while, he'd started to hate being call Benjamin anyway, and I wasn't sure exactly why. He'd once said it was because it was too formal, but otherwise he wouldn't explain exactly what it was.

"What do you mean?" I finally asked and then I glanced at my parents who both shrugged.

"He asked us to stop a couple months ago," mum replied and Brianne nodded.

"I suppose I should have told you that," Brianne said. "I had other things on my mind though when we wrote to each other."

I turned back to Ben who I'd noticed had grown a bit more, but that wasn't too shocking. He'd be nine soon enough and I hadn't seen him since last summer. He was bound to grow, but I didn't know how to take this new information. What was wrong with being called Benny?

"It's a little kid name," he explained. "Ben sounds more grown up. I don't want to be called Benjamin either. I still don't like that name even if it's my name. I like Ben. It's just simple and not childish."

"But I've been calling you Benny since you could talk," I said.

"And I used to like it, but now I like Ben," he said. "Take your time. I know you might slip up sometimes but mum, dad and Brianne are used to it now."

"I never really liked Benny," Brenda said with a shrug. "I thought you were getting too old for it too. I'll be more than happy to call you Ben. In fact, I remember when I did call you Ben and you got upset. I guess now you're the opposite."

"I was five back then," he told her smiling and then he looked at me. "I dunno why you look so sad."

"Because I was the first to call you Benny," I told him. "But I'll get used to it. It's just a bit of a shock. I'll respect it though. I won't stop calling you Little Brother though. I don't care if you think it's childish. In fact, if I have to give up Benny I might have to call you Little Brother more."

"That's fine with me Big Brother," Ben said with a smirk. "And it's just a name you know."

"If it's just a name it shouldn't be a big deal," I said but now I was just teasing him.

He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but it's my name. I could call you mum's old nickname, Little Bear Boo," he said and began to laugh.

"Okay, it's Ben," I said quickly.

I'd put a stop to Little Bear Boo when I was six. I didn't even know how he could possibly know my old nickname but he did. Ben snorted and began to laugh even harder. I wished I could do magic so I could use the tickle charm on him. Instead, I rushed over to him and lifted him and carried him to the couch. He stared at me in shock until I started to tickle him.

"Stop, stop!" He said. "I won't call you that."

"How did he know?" I asked as I backed off laughing myself.

"I might have let it slip once," Brenda said with a shrug and I pretended to glare at her. She shrugged. "What? I needed him to leave me alone, so I gave him that."

"Okay, but Benny isn't as bad Little Bear Boo," I said which sent Benny into a fit of giggles again. Brianne and Brenda joined in. Mum and dad were watching with amusement. I turned to them now. "Where did you come with that kind of nickname anyway?"

"Just from Barry," mum said with a shrug. "You went through a few. It always had to do with a bear though. You were Teddy Bear, and Boo Bear and a few others."

"I'm never giving my kids silly names," I said. "Fair enough Ben. I understand how you feel, even if Benny isn't that bad. Let's go upstairs and talk and unpack."

"I want to come too!" Brianne said jumping up.

"You coming as well?" Ben asked Brenda. "Or are you still too good for us?"

"I've got my own things to unpack," she said. "Maybe we'll hang out later."

"Some things never change," Ben said as he rolled his eyes. He rushed over to take my hand. I couldn't help but think the same. As grown up as he claimed to be, he would always want his big brother.

Dad got me a part time job just stocking shelves at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. I went there three times a week in the mornings. It wasn't a lot of money, but it got me out of the house, I was gaining experience and I was earning something. When I wasn't stocking shelves, I was also cleaning. If the owner liked me enough, in two years I could even run the cash register.

Diagon Alley didn't seem different from any other year. You-Know-Who was back, but people were still doing their usual shopping as if nothing had changed. I remembered what mum and dad had said though. A lot of people didn't believe he was back. After a while, I even started to hear people discussing this when I walked up and down the streets. I even read in a Daily Prophet lying on a table in The Leaky Cauldron that they were making both Harry Potter and Dumbledore a running joke.

Remembering that my parents wanted me to be cautious, I couldn't say anything to anyone who was against Harry and Dumbledore, but it made my blood boil. How could they think Harry would do this for attention? I didn't know him that well, and I still regretted my part when it came to wearing the Potter Stinks! badges but I did know that he just wanted to be left alone. He didn't ask for any of the things that happened. What surprised me the most was that Rita Skeeter wasn't writing anything about him. I would have thought she'd be the first, but any of the articles I checked were written by other witches or wizards.

Mum was so proud of me that she decided that Brenda needed to work too. She knew she didn't want to baby-sit Ben, so she had her work with an elderly lady she knew. Brenda was still too young for Diagon Alley. It had been hard enough for my father to get me a job. Brenda was upset by this at first, but after working with the older woman after a couple days, Brenda seemed happier.

"She's great," she told me when I asked about this. "She has so many stories and she is so ancient! She's one hundred and eight! Can you imagine being that old? She knows so much about Hogwarts too even if it's been forever. I hope I can always work with her. When I'm not doing chores for her, we just sit and talk. She said I can write her when I need to once I go back to school."

I noticed even more of a change with Brenda that summer. She still had her stuck up, up tight attitude but she wasn't as bad and she even sat down to play with Brianne and Ben at times. I think working gave her self-confidence. My parents no longer had to scold her as often, and when she was about to insult someone, she managed to stop herself sometimes. She still had her moments of course, but I would take this Brenda over the old one any day.

Ben seemed rather subdued though, and I didn't know why. Usually he woke up with a smile on his face, and he went to bed with one. He was always a happy child, but lately I noticed the happiness seemed to be fake. Was he worried about You-Know-Who? Did he feel too old to play now?

One afternoon, I went into his room to see him lying on his back on his bed watching an old snitch fly around. Dad had bought us a few years ago, though we didn't really play Quidditch that much. We preferred flying the most, although I'd noticed lately that Ben wanted to play as a Chaser. Perhaps he'd be the Quidditch player of the family. He wasn't bad, though he needed a lot of improvement if he ever wanted to get on our team.

"What's going on with you?" I asked him. "You're never like this. Not too old to play now are you?"

"No," he replied not looking at me. He just watched the Snitches progress around the room.

"So what is wrong?" I asked. "Are you worried about You-Know-Who?"

"I think we're all worried about him aren't we?" Ben asked.

"It still hasn't hit me yet, but yes, I suppose we all are," I said. "I over heard a couple witches in Diagon Alley talking about some disappearances. It's probably related to him. Some witch named Bertha Jorkins disappeared-"

"You're behind on the times Barry," Ben said as he sat up. "I know all about that. Mum and dad don't realize that Brianne and I listen in on a lot of their conversations. We already suspected it about You-Know-Who because we thought we heard something about it. They were invited to join something called the Order of the Phoenix but they didn't because of us. They want to fight against You-Know-Who but they are scared to join because they're worried they'll be targets and we won't have anyone."

"And that's what you're worried about?" I asked him as I took a seat on his other bed.

"No," he replied. "I mean yes, of course but it's not what I am thinking about. It's just that all of you are going to school now. Brianne has always been there. If I don't have Sam, I have Brianne. She's leaving in September. I'm going to be all by myself. She'll make new friends. She already has those two girls she met last year at the World Cup. I'm going to be home by myself for three years. I just wish I could have been born at least in August then I wouldn't have to wait so long."

I understood now. Ben didn't see Sam all that often. Maybe once a week if that. He always had Brianne though who was a good playmate to him. Now he wouldn't have anyone to play with. He was losing one of his best friends and he was going to be lonely. I also knew the thought of the three of us being away at school with You-Know-Who being back also scared him.

"I've always said there should be a school before Hogwarts," I told him with a sigh. "At least then you'd have people to talk to. Maybe Sam can come around more often."

"Not likely," Ben said. "Aunty Helen is so protective of Sam. Haven't you ever noticed that? I dunno if it's because he was born so many years after Drew but she is. She'll believe that You-Know-Who is back as well, and she might not want him here as much. If he does come it will be weekends. Why isn't there a school before Hogwarts?"

"I don't know," I answered. "But with Tasha's case, or other muggleborns I've always thought it was a good idea. They could get to know magic before school. Anyway, I'll try to write to you more."

"Will you come home on the holidays?" He asked.

"Maybe for Christmas," I told him. "But it's so much easier to stay for Easter when it comes to the exams. I can do more magic and I have the library. I don't see why I can't for Christmas though and you know Brianne and Brenda will likely be home."

"I just wish everyone could," he said. "It's not the wait for Hogwarts that bugs me so much as just being by myself. I've never been alone, and mum and dad there will probably be an hour or two without the tutor where I'll be alone. Not until after my ninth birthday though. I just wish that Sam and I could maybe be tutored together. Mum did try that but Aunty Helen doesn't want that."

"Why?" I asked. "It's actually brilliant."

"You'd have to ask her. Mum even told her I could go to her place instead," Ben said. "I think dad is going to keep trying. I sure hope so because I don't like being alone Barry. I always knew someday that Brianne would be going but it always seemed so far away. Now it's here, and it is scary knowing that You-Know-Who is out there, even if he is underground."

"I'm actually surprised mum and dad are willing to leave you alone for a couple hours," I said.

"Well this house is so well protected," he answered. "I imagine dad has already put more charms on it. The Death Eaters haven't really ever known where we live. Only the Ministry does and the only they could get that information is if it's taken over I think. Dad works there, so he'd know before then and once that happens he'd just be Secret Keeper."

"You sound so much older than eight," I said to him. "I feel like one of our cousins is reassuring me."

"I told you, I listen to their conversations all the time. Besides, I have two older sisters and a brother," Ben said to me finally smiling. "It's hard not to feel more grown up. I'm glad you do see me more grown up. I still like to play sometimes, but I just don't want to be seen as that little boy all of you have to look after. Maybe it's good I am by myself now. Maybe all of you will see me as bigger now."

"It's already happening," I told him. "I think you are ten times more mature than I was at your age. I feel like you'll be more mature at fourteen than I am now."

Ben just shrugged.

"Do you think I'll make good friends like you have?" He asked me. "Sam is younger so I want to make friends in my own year. I don't know if I will have my own Nick and Tasha."

"I think you will," I told him. "You're an easy-going kid most of the time and you seem to make friends easily when you meet knew kids. I think you'll be like Brianne. She met those two girls last year and they're still friends."

"I wish I had that," Ben said. "It would be great to go to school with someone I already know. I just don't want to end up like Brenda. I know she hangs out with Kendra but most people don't like her. I heard her complaining to mum and dad that everyone hates her. What if I have people who hate me?"

"Well as long as you're not a prat, it won't happen," I told him. "Just be friendly with them and they'll like you. I think you'll have more friends than all of us. I get along with most of the people in my year, but it's just Tasha and Nick who are my best friends."

"I think Brianne will be the popular one," Ben told me. "I don't need popularity. I just want a good friend or two. What if I forget how to be friends with people because I am alone for three years?"

"You won't forget," I said with amusement glad to see some of the little boy in him. "It's not something you can forget. It's like riding a broomstick. Look, maybe I'll see if someone of my classmates have brothers or sisters your age. I've never really asked before about that. If they do, maybe we can introduce you. Would you like that?"

Ben nodded. "It's okay if you don't though. I've just never been alone. So you have to spend as much time with me as possible when you're home."

"I will," I said. "When Nick and Tasha come over you can hang out with us too, unless it's late at night. Sometimes we will want to be alone, but most of the time you can hang out with us. I'm sure Brianne will hang out with you a lot too."

"She's promised that too," Ben said.

"So don't mope around then little brother. Spend time with us, and then we'll give you all the attention you need. Mope once we are gone," I added the last bit with a grin.

"I probably will," he said smiling back. "Want to swim then? It's nice outside."

"Let me shower first and then we will," I said. "I just got off work so I'm gross."

"But you can wash off in the pool," Ben told me. "I mean, it's water."

"Yes, but I'm dirty and it's better just to shower first. Showering and swimming isn't the same," I told him. "It's chlorine and water but it's not really getting you clean."

"I think water no matter what gets you clean," Ben said. "Mum and dad don't agree and I guess you don't either anymore."

"You learn the truth after a while," I told him. "And believe me, just swimming isn't making you clean. I'll shower and I'll meet you downstairs."

Ben could go all summer without washing if mum and dad let him because he believed that the pool cleaned you off. Up until last year, I'd believed the same thing but Tasha had pointed out it wasn't true. She'd told me that girls would find me dirty if I kept that attitude up, so I'd started showering before and after. I didn't want to be like some of the blokes in my dorm who could a long time without showering. Ivan only showered once a week. It was disgusting. We'd had to tell him that he smelled like body odor just to get him to start wearing deodorant. There was a time when I didn't get clean that much, but I'd never gone that long without bathing, not even as a little kid. Mum and dad wouldn't let us go a long time without being clean, and I'd picked up the habit on my own.

Ben was still too young to care about what girls thought, but I figured before his first year we'd have that talk. I had a feeling he'd be like me and he'd notice them early. He wouldn't want to be the dirty kid in his year. The girls wouldn't like him, and other kids would find him smelly. He was worried he'd have no friends, and the first step would be to look like he took care of himself.

After my shower, I went outside to find that Brianne and Ben were in the pool already. I ran to jump in with a big splash.

"Brenda just hiding out in her room?" I asked once I came up.

"As usual," Brianne said. "I would have thought this summer she'd want to be with us. All she does is work and then hang out in her room. She never even talks about Kendra. They're still friends aren't they."

"As far as I know," I said and then I swam over to lean against the wall. "They sat with us on the train."

"Do you think a lot of people will be fighting at school?" Brianne asked. "Mum and dad said people might be divided after all."

"I wish I knew," I told her. "Most of the Ravenclaws in my year believe Harry is mad. They don't believe he is back. They think a lot more happened in that maze then they are letting on. So they aren't even coming this year for the pool party. In fact, I don't even think I should have it. I don't want to listen. So I think at least in my year it will be divided. I can only hope that we'll just ignore each other."

"It's going to be hard because I will be making new friends," Brianne said with a sigh as she joined me. "I won't know who to trust. Harriet and Isabella believe Dumbledore and Harry thankfully, so I know I can talk to them. Isabella said that she wasn't too far from where Harry appeared outside the maze. She said he looked awful, like he'd been in a battle."

"We saw him from a distance," I said. "He's not lying and he's not Skeeter started it, and for some reason she has stopped writing about it, but everyone is just picking up where she left off because the Ministry wants them to."

"Why has she stopped?" Ben asked. "She was getting articles in almost everything last year, and she just stopped."

"She writes so many mean articles that I bet someone finally threatened her," Brianne said. "She even wrote one about dad you know."

"She did? When?" I asked.

"Around Christmas. Said he cares too much about the Hoofer reputation and it's why he sends an annual donation to St. Mungos every year. She said he just wants to get in the Ministries good books like Lucius Malfoy."

"Dad has never cared what people think," I said indignantly. "You're probably right. She was angering a lot of people last year. She got in a very public fight with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger last year. It's why she wrote that rubbish about Hermione."

"Well, it probably happened again," Brianne said. "I mean, why else stop? Mum and dad thought that maybe she'd be making her way to writing novels and yet they're writing all this mad stuff about Dumbledore and Harry, and she's keeping quiet."

"I still don't know how she got all her stories last year," I said. "Dumbledore banned her from the grounds but she knew things."

"Maybe she had an invisibility cloak or maybe she can turn into an animal," Ben suggested. "I just learned about Animagus' with our tutor. Maybe she knows how to turn into some small animal. Maybe she's good at Disillusionment charms or she could have taken some Polyjuice potion. Maybe somehow she got a kids hair and she got her stories that way."

"Honestly, I wouldn't put any of that past her." I said surprised at my brothers knowledge. I hadn't known about any of that at his age.

"What is Polyjuice potion?" Brianne asked. "How come you know stuff I don't?"

"I read a lot of extra books," Ben said. "And she taught us about Animagus' you know."

"Yes, I remember that but I've never heard of Polyjuice potion. What is it?"

"It's a potion that turns you into someone else," I told her. "You just need something of theirs and it turns you into them. And honestly, I think out of everything Ben said, that is the answer. At the beginning she was so close to the students to get interviews. She could have gotten hairs or something from anyone at any time. It wouldn't be hard for her to be a kid and find things out."

"That's scary," Brianne said. "Just to be someone else. So someone could be me at anytime?"

"If they get your hair," I said. "But it doesn't happen that much. Didn't we tell you about Professor Moody? How he was actually a fraud all this time. It was Crouch's son."

We'd heard some rumours about it, but the news hadn't officially come out until we were done school. Mum and dad had told Brenda and me everything. So all that year, we'd actually been learning from a Death Eater and he had helped You-Know-Who come back. I was sure that they would have told Ben and Brianne too. They'd said they wanted the two of them to know everything from now on too.

"Well yes," Brianne said. "They didn't mention how… I guess that's how he did it. Is that how you know what Polyjuice potion is?" She added to Ben.

"No, I read about it before then," Ben said. "But I don't know how you didn't hear about it when mum and dad told us. I still can't believe there was a Death Eater there all year. And mum and dad thought it might be that Headmaster."

"And he's gone now," I said. "He disappeared I think. Guess he got scared when he realized that You-Know-Who was back. The Durmstrang students thought he was useless anyway."

"Do you think maybe Rita is a Death Eater?" Ben asked. "Could that be why she isn't writing? Maybe You-Know-Who wants her to lay low."

"Maybe but I just think You-Know-Who would want everyone to act the same," I said. "It would be suspicious wouldn't it?"

"I guess so," Ben said.

"Maybe we should talk about something else though," Brianne said. "I know he's back, but I just want to have fun. I don't want everything to be serious all the time. I think it should be if it has to be."

I didn't say anything to that, but I did worry we couldn't have fun for a while. Perhaps she was right. For the moment, we should have some fun. Just how long could we have fun before everything went to hell? I didn't want to be serious all the time either, but was it a good idea to have fun sometimes too? Didn't we need to be on our guard? But then again, our house was well protected. It would be okay at least for the summer to have fun.

"Yes," I finally said while Ben and Brianne stared at me. "I think we should have fun. Let's just worry about the Death Eater stuff when we have to. Maybe we never will. Maybe Dumbledore will stop him. He has stopped dark wizards before. He stopped Grindelwald after all, and You-Know-Who is scared of Dumbledore."

I was the oldest after all, and I knew all three of my siblings would follow my lead. If I had fun, they would too. Brenda would be her usual self and Brianne and Ben would go back to their usual sunny selves. So I just smiled and then splashed them both. They both laughed and then threw water back at me. I wished it could always be this easy.

Earning money outside of baby-sitting felt good. It made me feel like a real man, and I would be one very soon after all. I was turning fifteen in December. That meant that in a little over two years, I would be seventeen. I would officially be a man. That meant I needed to let go some of the kids stuff and thoughts. Considering that You-Know-Who was back, this was the best time as any to be more a real man and not a boy anymore.

Sometimes it wasn't that easy though. The thoughts of the most evil wizard being back kept me up at nights. During the day, I had to pretend it wasn't that big of deal for my siblings, but as I thought about it more and more, and it started to hit me more, it truly did scare me. The fact that he wasn't even doing anything was scary too because it gave him the perfect opportunity to get stronger and get more followers.

"Are you quite sure you want to leave Ben home alone for a couple hours?" I asked mum one afternoon. "What if someone gets past dads charms and attacks our house?"

"No one knows where we live dear, but I think we have Aunt Helen convinced to let Ben go over for his tutoring," mum told me. "Your dad has charms on this place that they can't even find us. I'm not that comfortable with the idea either, and I am considering staying home. I may not renew my next contract in January."

I was shocked by this news. Mum had always been proud of the fact that she was an independent witch. She never took her full time maternity leave when she had us. She only stayed with us for a couple months before returning, even when we were all really small. She'd never wanted to be the stay-at-home type of mum. She had no problem with them, but it just wasn't for her.

"But it would be until Ben is out of school, right?" I asked her. "You've always loved working. Soon I'll be out of the house forever."

"I don't know yet," mum replied. "I might go back part time, but for now, yes I'd rather be home with Ben. He's going to be so lonely anyway. Once I know the danger has past it could be full time again. So far, I've accomplished what I wanted to do work wise, so it isn't hard for me to stop. However, you're right. You are almost done school and I'd like to with you lot on your holidays, even if you don't come home for Easter. So it's why I think I will just go back part time."

"But what about when we're all done school?" I asked. "Will you really be able to just not work?"

"Yes, there are other things in life besides work and while I do like to be modest, well, we do have enough money now. I do not have to work anymore," mum replied. "And I feel this is the perfect time to slowly start my retirement."

I stared at mum and raised my eyebrows. Given how much mum insisted on working when we were younger, I just couldn't believe it. I'd always believed that dad would retired before mum, and they were both still quite young. I wasn't sure how old Dumbledore was, but he was certainly ancient and he still worked. They were actually retiring quite young by wizarding standards. I said all this to mum who shrugged.

"I don't feel I have to prove myself as much as I did when I was younger," mum said. "When I first married your father, people all assumed I married him for his money. It wasn't just that, but we'd always wanted a big family, and everyone assumed I'd be a stay-at-home living off my husbands riches. I couldn't stand it, and so I did everything I could to prove to everyone, including your father wrong. I wanted them to all know that I could work, and still take care of the family. Now however, I don't feel the need to prove myself."

"Kind of ironic considering that you always tell us not to care what people think," I teased her and mum laughed and ruffled my hair the way she used to when I was younger.

"Yes well, it's easier said than done," mum said. "I've heard you tell your siblings the same but I know you do care what others think. Someday you'll have children and you'll tell them the same."

"Well, I'll feel better knowing you're with Ben," I said. "Not just because of the dangers, but just because he is complaining that he's going to be lonely. Maybe Aunt Helen will let Sam come over more too."

"That's what I am trying to do," mum replied.

"I never realized it, but Ben is right. She is so protective of him. I mean, I know her other kids are grown but I don't think she was that protective of them. In fact, Julie must be just a year older than Garth."

"A bit older than that," mum said. "She's three years I believe but there is a reason for that. Aunt Helen nearly lost Sam, and so yes, she does protect him more. He's no longer as frail as he was. You probably don't remember, but he was sickly when he was first born. Now he's a lot better. Don't Ben that. I don't care how grown he thinks he is, he doesn't need to know that. She's more nervous with this war too, but if there are two of us watching the children, we'll be safe. And no one really knows where we live."

"Unless there are spies in the Ministry," I said. "You really shouldn't feel that secure. Your spells show the house once people know. I still don't understand how it's different from a secret keeper."

"Because a secret keeper has to reveal the secret," mum said. "If I were the secret keeper of this house, you couldn't tell anyone the location. The spells just hide the location and the house but it doesn't have to be a certain person to tell anyone. Once someone knows, they know. Our spells are mainly up to keep muggles from finding the house. We did it so that the house could be as magical as we wanted it to be."

"But certain wizards can detect magic," I reminded her.

"Yes, but I don't feel we need to worry yet and once things do get really bad I believe your father will be secret keeper here," mum said.

"And if things get so bad, is there a way we can hide Tasha and her family?" I asked.

"Your father has already put some protective charms on their place," mum responded. "But yes, we'll do whatever it takes to protect Tasha and anyone else who needs it. I don't believe we can hide them here unfortunately if it comes to the way things were… well, unless we become secret keeper but that's as a last resort."

"Why couldn't they stay here?" I asked a little annoyed by this.

"If they come to full power while Tasha is underage, they can find her easily here. There will probably come a time when they will know our address, and they will check," mum said. "We can't draw attention to hiding if that happens."

"Not unless dad is secret keeper," I replied.

"If we do that, all of you'd have to be pulled out of school," mum explained. "Dad wouldn't be going to work anymore, and neither would I. Of course we'll take Tasha in if it comes to that. At first, we don't want things to be too suspicious Barry. We'll want to behave as normally as possible unless we absolutely have to hide."

"So how will you protect her then if things get to the point that muggleborns should hide?" I asked.

"One of the family members who are retired," mum said. "It won't be suspicious if one of them goes into hiding since they're already retired. Don't worry, we've had these plans in place in case You-Know-Who ever came back. Our family is always willing to help anyone who needs help. Your father will be paying close attention. He has enough authority at the Ministry that he can find out easily, but one of his friends is in- well, they're in a group that is fighting as well. They can't tell him too much of course, but they can tell him if there is immediate danger. We can easily hide Tasha and her parents so quickly, no one will be the wiser."

"Good," I said feeling better now. "And are you talking about the Order of the Phoenix?"

"How do you know about that group?" Mum demanded. "No one is supposed to know."

"Brianne and Ben told us about it," I said. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Not even Tasha and Nick but you really should watch out what you talk about around them. They know that the Order of the Phoenix wanted you two to join, but you didn't because it's too much risk."

"Well, we're unofficial members," mum told me. "We don't go to the meetings, but we are allowed certain information. It's how we knew about Harry all those years ago when it came to the Philosophers Stone. They're out on the front lines and they know all the information, but they do contact us to give us certain information mainly for our own sanity. However, even though we aren't active members, we are prepared to fight if we have to. Nick's parents do know about it too, and they turned down membership as well, but I still would rather you lot never talk about it at school. Not unless you know you are alone. I'll have to talk to your brother and sisters too. They cannot reveal that information, no matter what. It is very important."

"Mum," I said gently. "I think even Ben knows how important the secret is. We won't reveal anything we shouldn't. The only thing I ask from you is that you are honest. You say you will be, but I need for you to be."

"We will, but Barry, I should tell you that we won't be able to write anything in a letter," mum said. "When You-Know-Who was in power before, owls were intercepted all the time. We will find a way to get information to you, but for the most part you'll get our normal letters. If we feel you need to know something important, well, there are spells that make sure only you can read the information. We'll send a normal letter of nonsense, but once you touch it, well, it should turn into the real letter. We won't risk doing it too much however."

"Someone needs to invent a way of communication without letters," I said. "I mean it's the nineties. There must be some spell. In fact, I know there are spells that are NEWT level."

"There are ways, and we may even do it that way," mum told me. "I do agree with you though. There should be a way for all witches and wizards to communicate with something besides owls."

"Do you think it will be soon that we'll all be pulled out of school?" I asked mum.

"I hope it never happens. I hope the Order succeeds in stopping You-Know-Who and things go back to normal," mum answered.

"But you don't think it will happen that way," I stated.

"Not if the Ministry keeps ignoring the fact he is back," mum sighed. "But don't worry about it too much Barry. Keep on your guard, but don't stress yourself over it."

"Easier said than done," I reminded her.

She just smiled at me looking rather sad, and then told me to go out and enjoy my summer. What if we didn't have much longer though? What if a lot of our family died? What if this lasted for a long time? I couldn't remember how long You-Know-Who was in power the last time, but I knew it could last for years. What if it was still happening when Ben was my age?

Not too much longer after that, dad came home to tell us that Harry Potter had been expelled for using underage magic, but then it had been overturned to just a suspension. Apparently he had to go to a trial. Dad didn't know too much about what had happened, but he believed just as we believed that Harry had used magic for a reason. The boy wasn't an idiot, so we knew that there had to be a reason for why he'd used magic.

"You don't think it was him?" Ben asked me his eyes wide with fear.

"No," I said. "If it had been him, there would probably be more news don't you think? I don't think the Ministry could cover something that big up."

"But they've covered up You-Know-Who's return," Ben argued.

"Yes, but Harry was the only witness. Whatever happened it was in a muggle neighbourhood. So if there had been a big battle there, we'd know more."

"So what do you happened then?" Ben asked.

"Maybe someone just sent something at him?" I suggested. "I think it was just something that made him have to defend himself, but nothing that could maybe kill him. Or maybe someone else cast the spell. He's the only known wizard in that area, so his magic would register. So someone could have just cast a spell to get him in trouble."

"To shut him up about You-Know-Who maybe?" Ben asked.

"Probably," I answered. "Mum and dad did say that You-Know-Who hadn't wanted people to know he was back. The Ministry is covering up, but I am sure there are some people who want to keep him quiet anyway."

Dad didn't find out until later that it was Dementors that had turned up. Dementors in a muggle neighbourhood! Dad said his sources were worried that maybe You-Know-Who or someone had sent them and that made me even more scared. What if they started doing that to any blood traitor later on? What if they had them go after mum and dad or Ben?

For some reason, the book lists took forever to come that summer. I ended up grabbing the books I knew for sure I'd need one afternoon after work. The only one I didn't know for sure was the Defense book. It made me wonder why it was taking so long for them to come. Did it have to do with You-Know-Who being back?

I asked Tasha and Nick to come as well, but Nick's parents didn't want him going alone. They were going to grab his books themselves. Tasha did turn up while I was in Flourish and Blotts though. She'd taken the Knight Bus over.

"I left my stuff at The Leaky," she told me. "Tom, the old barman said he'd watch them for me. Mum and dad want me to stay at your place the rest of the summer."

"Good," I said. "At least I know you're safe."

"I earned a lot this year. Like last year I baby-sat in the evenings too. I never realized you could make so much by baby-sitting and you know what? I love doing it. I'm going to miss the kids. I wanted to baby-sit the rest of the summer, but mum and dad said it's better for me to be here."

"Do they know about everything?" I asked her as I helped her select the books I knew we'd need.

"No," she replied. "But they still seem uneasy. It's like every year I come back the more uneasy they get about having a witch around. Maybe they're scared that the more magic I learn, I might use against them or something."

"Well if they were open-minded, they'd know that's not the case," I said. "But you can spend time with my siblings anyway. I love Brianne and I understand her excitement but her questions do get annoying. I'll be glad when we are on the train."

"I'm glad she is still excited," Tasha said. "I mean with everything that has happened, at least she still has a reason to be."

"She still gets scared but she is excited even more I think," I said. "I would be the same way though. I remember how excited I was the summer before my first year. Ben isn't happy though," and then I remembered. I hadn't told her how Ben no longer wants to be called Benny. "Call him Ben. He doesn't want to be called Benny anymore. He thinks it's too childish."

"That will be odd to get used to," Tasha said. "It's hard to believe he'll be nine though. I still remember that six-year-old little boy."

"I still remember the little toddler," I said with a sigh. "And he's such an old nine-year-old, or eight year old. He's nothing like the rest of us were. I mean, he still plays but he still seems twelve instead of nine. He can seem so much older than Brianne one second and then so much younger the next."

"But Ben has always been older than his age," Tasha said. "Emotionally he's his age, but otherwise he is older."

"We're also going to spend more time with him," I told her. "He's so worried he is going to be lonely. I told him that when you and Nick come over we will spend time with him. I do wonder when Nick will be over though."

"I'm surprised he hasn't been," Tasha said. "He's always over almost everyday just for breakfast!"

"Yes, but his parents are being very protective with this You-Know-Who business," I said. "Hasn't he written you much? He is always writing to me to complain how bored he is. He even wants to work, but his parents don't want him to."

"Nick and I have never really written to each other that much," Tasha said with a shrug. "Usually it's just you or Luna who writes me and I write you two. We'll update each other once and a while, but we haven't written this year."

"I never knew that," I said. "I mean, I write you two all the time."

Tasha shrugged.

"I think we just feel more comfortable always talking in person," Tasha told me. "I've never given it a second thought. I don't think it means we aren't as close, but with you, I think of you automatically when something happens during the day and I just want to write to you and tell you. I've never had that with Nick."

"Same here," I said. "I'm actually surprised, I forgot to tell you about the change with Ben. I didn't tell Nick either, but I was shocked. I was the first person to ever call him Benny, and now he doesn't like it."

"Well, all kids grow up," Tasha said.

"I didn't tell you everything either because mum told me that owls can be intercepted. Wait until we get home and I'll tell you everything else," I told her and then dropped my voice. "You never know who could be listening."

"Well, lets get robes after this," Tasha said. "I need new ones again already, and to think I was worried I wouldn't grow."

"I do too," I said. "I can get almost everything except whatever book we need for Defense, but I figure since I work out here, I can always come back."

"Odd they haven't come yet," Tasha said. "Anyway, what about Brianne?"

"Mum is bringing the girls together," I said. "Brenda wanted to come on her own, but mum doesn't want her to. You know, I am impressed by her too. Last year, she would have thrown a temper-tantrum but she didn't this time. She pouted a bit but she didn't argue. She moved on. Mum did agree to let her go shopping on her own though, just as long as they all come together."

"And Ben?" Tasha asked.

"He might go with them," I said. "He's kind of mopey this summer so it's hard to say. If I'd have thought of it sooner, I might have asked mum and dad if I could bring him along today but I just thought of it this morning when I sent you the letter. Maybe him and I could still have a day here together. Maybe we could write Nick and see when his parents want to bring him and we could all come down the same day anyway."

"But his parents might not let him wander off," Tasha said.

"Maybe not," I said realizing she was probably right. "But it couldn't hurt to try. They might feel better if we're all together. Brianne is driving mum mad, so they probably will be here within the week. I mean, they'd have to be. Term is starting so soon."

As it turned out though, Nick's parents actually decided to owl order everything for him. They did all his measurements and just bought everything except the Defense book of course. They were that worried. I'd always thought maybe mum and dad went overboard, but they were easy-going compared to his parents. They even agreed that Ben could hang out with Tasha and me when we all went shopping again for the girls books. Brenda went off on her own, and Brianne excitedly went off with mum and dad to get her wand.

"I still can't believe she's old enough," I said as we watched them go while we ate ice cream.

"I wish I could get mine," Ben said. "I wish I could get it today."

"But then you'll be impatient for how long it takes to use it," I said. "But we could always get you a trick wand."

"Oh please," Ben said and he rolled his eyes. "I got so many of those the novelty has worn off. I want a real wand that does magic. I want to be Brianne's age so I can go too. I want the next three years to go by quickly."

"Me too," Tasha said. "When you start you are ready to start first year, I will be turning seventeen. We should celebrate together. We'll have my birthday party, and we will have a party for your first year."

"Sounds good to me," Ben said with a grin. "So where are we going to go? You two already got your stuff. Maybe ice cream? And the the joke shop? Oh and then Quality Quidditch Supplies!"

"All of the above," I said. "We have all afternoon. Mum and dad said to meet them at The Leaky around three. So we can do whatever we want."

We saw many of our classmates that day, and they too were wondering where the book lists were. They were just grabbing whatever it was they needed, and hoped that they could order the other books later on. We saw Brianne's friends wandering around, and I hoped they would run into each other.

"Some of them seem… well, rather cool," Tasha said to me. "What's going on? Philip almost took off running it seemed."

"It's this You-Know-Who situation," I answered. "And people like him don't believe he's back Anyone who believes Harry is mad by association."

"Why would they believe that?" Ben back. "He's back."

"But you remember what mum and dad said," I told him.

"But I just find them mad not to believe it," Ben said. "Not us. Someday they'll regret not believing. I hope they don't, but it's inevitable."

"You are too wise beyond your years," Tasha said to him. "Well, I guess we'll just have to ignore them. I hate to think how the girls will be though. I've managed to get them to leave Luna alone most of the time, but I think this year it's open season for Luna. She believes too, and she believes all that other barmy stuff."

"Well I think Ben is right," I said. "They're all going to be eating their words, and they will regret not listening. Just wait until real mad stuff starts happening. I'm just glad with my dorm mates they will just ignore us."

I did worry about Brianne. Everyone already knew each other at Hogwarts. They could guess how their classmates reactions would be somewhat to You-Know-Who's return but she didn't know anyone except Harriet. At least she'd have one friend, but about the other first years?

"How bad do you think it will be?" Tasha asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "I honestly can't say but I think it's going to be the worst thing we've all been divided over. It won't be the same as last year or with the Chamber of Secrets. My hope is that we'll all just ignore each other and there won't be fights."

"And the ones with Death Eater parents?" Tasha asked.

"They'll listen to their parents and keep their mouths shut," I replied.

"What do you think it will be like when I start?" Ben asked.

"We can only hope it's done, but somehow I don't think it will be," I told him. "So you'll have to forgive me if I watch your every move. I'll be watching out for Brianne and Brenda too."

"If I'm even in Ravenclaw," Ben said. "I mean, Brianne will be but I might be the different Hoofer child."

"You'll be Ravenclaw," Tasha said. "You're so smart."

"You can be smart in any house," Ben said. "I mean I guess I probably will be Ravenclaw but maybe, just maybe I will be different."

"You say that often," I said turning to look at him. "Do you really not want to be in Ravenclaw?"

"I don't know," he said slowly. "It's not Ravenclaw I have anything against. It's just it's expected you know. Everyone assumes Hoofers will be Ravenclaws just like they assume that Weasley's will be Gryffindors. It would just be nice to be somewhere different. I won't be upset if I'm sorted into Ravenclaw but I won't be upset if I'm not."

"Well, Brianne might not be either," Tasha said. "She's smart, but she's so sweet as well. I think she could really be Hufflepuff too."

"My guess was that Brenda would be Slytherin, but I was wrong," I said. "Or more that I worried about it. You've seen how she's like when she wants to fit in. I worried that she'd want to fit in with some of the more bad kids and she'd pretend to hate muggleborns or something. That happens sometimes. Some kids hear that Slytherin's hate muggleborns and so they pretend to hate them. I mean, I don't honestly believe she ever hated Harry."

"Same here," Tasha said. "But would she go against her beliefs that much to fit in?"

"Yes," Ben said answering before I could. "And she'd have a wake up call later on. I've been thinking lately that her mean attitude was all an act. She told me what happened with Kendra. I think she just wanted to seem that way, especially once you went to school. She was just so insecure."

"But she got so many spankings," I said. "She hates them more than we hated them. Could she really go that far just to end up getting something she hates just as an act?"

"Part of it I think was just her bratty self, but she changed so quickly," Ben said with a shrug. "I just all of that wasn't the real Brenda. She's still uptight and I think that's the real Brenda."

"I don't know," Tasha said. "I think you're both onto something, but it could also just be growing up. Some kids just go through a bad stage. I don't talk much about my family, but I do have an older cousin about the same age as Ralph and Garth. She went through a phase where she was a nightmare… she was worse than Brenda. Brenda just gave attitude. She was doing all sorts of stuff. I only just found out recently about all this. She even stole a car!"

"And I could see Brenda doing stuff like that," I said. "I think she was just so insecure. Ben might be onto something, but I just think if she'd been sorted into Slytherin; it would have been ten times worse than what she was. And sometimes, I do worry still what could happen. She's better but if she feels threatened, what if she does something stupid?"

"Maybe we can ask Kendra to watch out for her," Tasha said. "She seems to be a good influence."

"If they're still friends," Ben said. "She hasn't mentioned her all summer."

"But we all sat together," Tasha said. "Her parents might just be as protective as Nicks and Brenda has never really talked that much about Kendra. Look, she was well, a bitch for years but I just think both of are you over worrying too. You should give her the benefit of the doubt. It's one of the reasons she gets so angry at times. People don't trust her. This is the worst time to be overly suspicious. We all need to stick together."

"You're right, but we should also get all the facts together too," Ben told her.

"Well then, we'll watch her. For now, I think we should all just trust each other. Who else can we trust," Tasha said. "I don't know how we went from talking about your sorting to Brenda."

"I think I'll talk to Kendra back at school," I said. "Now lets just go to the joke shop. We're all done aren't we? I see Brenda coming this way. I'd hate for her to overhear. She'd never forgive us."

"Neither would I," Tasha said with a sigh. "There's Brianne and your parents too. Oh and their with the Kellers. They all look so excited. I actually think Brianne will be Ravenclaw after all if they are."

In my opinion, all four of us would be Ravenclaw. There was no debate about it. I put a hand on Ben's shoulder as we got up. I would be keeping a close eye on him too. It was funny the difference between his first year, and Brenda's first year. I'd wanted her to stay away but I wanted him to come to me as much as possible, Brianne too. In fact, it was a talk we'd have later that night.


	25. Fourth Year Part One

Fourth Year

The morning we were to go back to school, Ben was very quiet. It wasn't like two years ago when he'd been very tired. We'd all gone to bed early. He'd slept in my room, so I knew he'd slept well enough. I was sure it was because we were all leaving him, but it was also because he was worried. All the way to the train station, Brianne had talked up a storm with Tasha. Even Brenda put her input in with the girls, and at times I thought she didn't like Tasha much, even if she said she'd forgiven her. I was quiet too, but it was because I was concerned about Ben. He just hadn't been himself. I wanted that hyper boy back, not this brooding boy.

I'd written to both Aunt and Helen and Sam. She'd finally relented to hire our tutor, and Ben would spend the days at her place until mum finished her contract. After that, I believed they were taking it back and forth where the boys would be taught. I'd ask Sam to try and keep Ben's mood up and I'd ask Aunt Helen to make sure he didn't brood too much. They'd both written back to assure me that they'd make sure Ben had fun.

At the train station, after we all hugged, I thought I saw unshed tears in Ben's eyes as he stared at Brianne but he didn't cry. He just stood closer to mum as we climbed onto the train. Brianne had chosen a compartment not too far from mine, so she came into mine so we could lean out the window to wave good-bye. Brenda had taken off to the front with Kendra, so clearly they were still friends.

"You'd think she'd want to stay with us long enough to say good-bye," Brianne said.

"You remember who we're talking about right?" I asked. "Besides, it's an unspoken agreement that we stay away from each other most of the time. I mean, sometimes it's okay but most of the time we don't talk.

don't need to follow those rules."

Tasha joined us at the window, and the three of us leaned out the window to say good-bye. I remembered a few years ago for my first year. Both Brianne and Ben had chased after the train. The year after that they'd been too tired, and last year they had but it'd been rainy too, so they couldn't run too far. Now it was just Ben, and I had a feeling he wouldn't chase it this year. He just stared at us waving and put up one hand.

"Move over," we heard someone say and I felt myself squished as Nick too leaned out the window to wave.

The train began to move moments later, and Ben stayed put, but he kept his hand up for a moment before I saw him turn and hug mum. It was a bit of a struggle to pull ourselves back inside.

"I left Harriet and Isabella in my compartment," Brianne said. "I should get back, but I might bug you lot later on."

"I might bother you for being an ickle firstie," Nick called after her as she went out the door.

The three of us sat down, Tasha and me on one side and Nick on the other.

"Heard Philip's mum telling him to stay away from Harry," Nick said as he sprawled out on the seat. "Harry wouldn't talk to him even if Philip wanted him to."

"And speak of the devil," Tasha said as Harry peered into our compartment with Ginny Weasley, and then moved on. "Hey Ginny!" She called out but the two didn't return. "Maybe she didn't hear me. I'll have to ask her. I hope they know we believe them. I'll have to talk to her tomorrow. Those of us who do believe should stick together."

"Well, Harry barely knows us," I said fairly. "He isn't going to want to sit with three people he doesn't know. After the summer he had?"

"You never said how his hearing went," Tasha accused me. "Obviously he got off since he's on the train and all. Last you told me was he was suspended and he might get expelled."

"He got off, but they didn't want to let him off," Nick said lazily. "Yes, my parents know people too. They actually tried him in front of the whole Wizanmagot! Dad thinks the Ministry is going to get even more corrupt and it will help You-Know-Who take over quicker."

"So does my dad," I said. "And I'm sorry Tasha, I've been distracted but you were at my place. You could have asked mum and dad at any time. Dad told me how it went one night when we had hot chocolate together but I've been so worried about Ben and everything else, I forgot about Harry."

"Ben will be fine," Nick said. "He's going to love being the only child for the next few years. Give him a few years to adjust. Soon he'll love that he is the center of attention."

Nick had a point and Ben was still young. He could act older all he wanted, but he was just eight-years-old (well, almost nine) and so he'd adapt. By the time we'd come home, he would be okay with us all being gone even if he did worry too.

Our dorm mates surprised us later on when they came into sit with us. They knew the three of us believed Harry and Dumbledore, so I'd thought for sure we'd all be divided. They tended to bother Luna for believing things that they were barmy after all, and this in their minds was barmy.

"You three aren't the mad ones, Potter is," Ivan said. "Even if you do believe him, we don't consider you mad, just a little naive. We're not going to hate you over it though," but then he sighed. "I wouldn't expect the same from Samaira and Gretchen though. They're very vocal about it all."

"What about Katrina?" Tasha asked.

"Not sure, she was quiet the whole time they were in our compartment. She might be like you lot," Darren said.

"Yes, well, I would think you and Kevin would be more open-minded Ivan," Tasha said. "You two are muggleborn like me."

"I don't want anyone, not even some famous bloke scaring me from Hogwarts," Ivan said. "Look, Potter got a taste of fame last year. Besides, all that stuff about his scar? I know people in his year. He was rolling around on the floor and clutching his scar! Whatever happened in that maze… well, I don't believe he was directly responsible, I mean it was that nutter who was impersonating Mad-Eye, but I think something happened and Potter is feeling guilty about it. Maybe he tried to save Cedric or maybe he saw him die. I think he just finds it easier to blame You-Know-Who."

"Exactly," Philip said. "Something horrible happened in that maze and Potter is just mad and what he saw will probably make him even more mad. He'll use his fame to get the attention he wants. We won't talk about it around you lot if you don't around us. We like you, so we're not going to fight with you over it. So end of discussion."

Nick and I glanced at each other, but we didn't say anything else. The four boys were the naive ones, not us. Anyone who didn't believe Harry was naive and they were going to regret it later on. Instead, I just did what they suggested and changed the subject. I asked them how their summers were instead. Ivan quickly launched into a story about how the four of them went to some muggle amusement park. I was distracted for the moment as they explained about roller coasters and other rides. It actually seemed like a lot of fun. I was jealous.

We were all a lot more cheerful by the time the train got to Hogwarts. The boys had left by that point, and the three of us were still discussing muggle amusement parks. Tasha was telling us about the times she'd gone with her parents to some.

We were all distracted when we got off the train however. Instead of Hagrid who usually led the first years to the castle, it was some woman. A woman, who according to Nick and Tasha had been the one who'd taken over for him the year before.

"Wonder what she is doing back," Tasha said as we picked a carriage. "You don't think he's been fired do you? Remember last year with all that half-giant rubbish?"

"Did your parents say anything?" I asked Nick as I followed him into the carriage.

"Well, I'd have told you by now if they had," Nick said. "But I might have an idea. I'll tell you later," he added as a few third year girls joined us.

"Hello Barry," a blond said grinning at me as she and her friends took seats across from us.

"Er-hi," I replied raising my eyebrows.

They looked familiar, but I knew they weren't Ravenclaws.

"You helped us in the library for our exams," she told me. "Remember when we were in our first year and you were in your second."

"Oh right," I said.

"We should have more of those study sessions," she added and she then started to giggle with her two friends.

I glanced over at Nick and Tasha with astonishment. I was used to girls being attracted to me by this point, but I felt as if they'd sought us out or something. Tasha looked furious for some reason while Nick looked amused.

"Remind me of your names again," I said turning back to them.

"Mary," the blond said and began blinking at me quickly.

"Rita, not to be confused with Rita Skeeter of course," a girl with dark hair told me and then winked.

"You always say that and it's never funny," Mary told her.

Rita just stuck her tongue out at her and then shrugged. I thought Mary had a point, but I wasn't going to say that. It was a rather stupid joke.

"I'm Monica," the last girl with red hair slightly darker than Ginny Weasley's. "You dated Mad Olivia."

"Yes," I said.

"Poor bloke," she said grinning. "She dated a boy in our year last year. He's still confused about her. I don't understand how she keeps getting dates."

"Because she's pretty," Rita said. "Bet that's why you went for her. It's why you went for the girl who could be a model. The one in Gryffindor."

"Well, I need to be attracted to someone," I said with a little annoyance. "You wouldn't date someone you aren't attracted to."

"Why else are you trying to get Barry's attention?" Tasha asked still annoyed.

"We're not trying to get anyone's attention," Monica told her with a smirk and then she looked straight at Nick and then winked at him.

Were they pretending not to flirt? I wondered. It was so obvious what they were doing. I looked over at Nick again who still looked amused. All three were rather cute, but I wasn't sure about them. They seemed almost flighty. Maybe they'd be okay for snog sessions but I wasn't sure about taking them on dates. Maybe that's why they were with us. They were likely hoping I'd ask one of them to Hogsmeade, or maybe even Nick would.

The rest of the ride felt awkward, and I was glad when we got of the carriage. The three girls called good-bye to us and then took off. I'd have to ask Brenda about them later. Of course she didn't like a lot of the people in her year, but she could still give me some input on them.

"So obvious," Tasha said as we walked up the castle steps.

"It was fun though," Nick said and then grinned at me. "So funny how your ex has a rep."

"Well, I hate to agree with them but they're right. The only reason why blokes put up with that is because she's pretty. I dunno why they even bother dating her. She'd be up for just a snog session and yet the blokes date her," Tasha said.

"Maybe they think there is fun in it," Nick said. "You know what they say about the mad ones, especially in bed."

"Right cause you know what that means," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Don't have to shag to know what it means," Nick said. "I've heard the older kids talk and maybe by now she has shagged."

"No, but she wants to," Tasha said quickly. "I'll bet she's one of the first in our year."

"Really?" Nick asked.

"You're not ready, and you can't do that to Barry," Tasha snapped at him as we entered the Entrance Hall.

"I actually don't really care," I told her.

And I didn't. I'd be jealous that my mate had already shagged. It was something that had been on my mind lately, even though I'd promised my cousins I wouldn't. The year before I hadn't been ready but sometimes I wonder if I was yet. Maybe that meant I wasn't if I was wondering about it though. What about Nick though? Was he being all talk or was he actually ready?

"You two can't actually be thinking about…" Tasha trailed off but she just shook her head.

"I bet you do," Nick said as we walked into the Great Hall. "Most people our age do even if they aren't ready yet. You just don't want to talk about it with us because we're boys."

"This isn't the time for this conversation," Tasha hissed at him. "People are probably listening!"

And then she walked ahead fast over to the Ravenclaw table. We hurried after her, but I doubted people were paying attention to us. I looked around at the people around us scurrying to their seats. No one was looking at us or listening to our conversation. I noticed most people were discussing Hagrid or Harry. Many of them were looking at the Gryffindor table.

When we caught up to Tasha, it was to find her sitting across from Luna. Nick and I sat on either side of Tasha. The two were already talking about summer. Down the table not too far from us were Gretchen, Samaira and Katrina. They were whispering behind their hands and then smirking down at Luna and Tasha. I thought it was more at Luna though. So there would be no holding back when it came to them this year.

"How was your summer Luna?" Nick asked once we sat down.

"Oh it was great," she said with a smile.

"What's going on with them?" I asked as the three girls suddenly let out a high pitched giggled.

"Oh, I sat with Harry Potter and his friends on the train," Luna responded in her usual dreamy voice.

"They're being bitches about it," Tasha said. "They think they were talking about all sorts of mad things, especially since Luna has one of her Quibblers with her. They seem to think they've joined ranks with Luna, even Ginny."

"You got that in a couple of seconds?" Nick asked her.

"They were going at it until I sat down," Tasha said. "But you can bet we're on the same level too."

Luna just shrugged. "Don't sit with me, and they won't bother you. They think we're friends."

"I've told you many times that we are," Tasha told her. "We wrote this summer."

She looked hurt now. I didn't know why Tasha wasted her time on that. I didn't mind talking to Luna and we were never anything but friendly with each other. However, after all these years, Luna still didn't see us as friends. She just thought we were all being friendly with her to just be nice. Tasha took it personally that Luna just didn't see her as a friend.

"It was really nice getting those letters," Luna told her.

Tasha sighed but didn't say anything else. Our dorm mates went and sat with the girls instead of us. The moment they sat down, the three girls leaned forward to whisper to them, and then point down to us.

I thought to myself, but I saw Philip look over at us and then shrug before glancing up at the teachers table.

"Wonder who that woman is?" Nick said as he too looked at the teachers table. "That small one all dressed in pink."

"Must be the new Defense teacher," I said. "Wonder what she'll be like."

"Looks almost like a toad don't you think?" Nick asked.

"That's not nice!" Tasha said. "But that cardigan… it's a bit much."

"Oh it's okay for you to insult her cardigan but I can't say she looks like a toad?" Nick asked with a grin.

"Well, I mean, she can't help how she looks but she can choose her clothes. She's wearing way too much pink and that cardigan is awful. No one should wear it outside their house," Tasha told him.

I had to agree with both of them. She really did look like a toad, and while I didn't pay attention girls fashion (unless they looked really good in their clothes) I had to admit the cardigan was awful. As we discussed her, Brenda and Kendra sat not too far from us. I could hear them talking about the new teacher too. It seemed everyone was in agreement that her cardigan was awful. Even the three girls were giggling about the teacher now.

"Hope the first years hurry up," Nick said. "I'm hungry."

"I am too, but I want to see Brianne be sorted," I said.

"Oh your sister is here now?" Luna asked. "Is she like Brenda who is always very unkind?"

"Brianne is opposite," Tasha told her. "She is a sweetheart. She would never be mean to you if you meet."

Soon, the first years were indeed led in. I sat up straighter trying to locate Brianne. I found her in the middle with Harriet. The two were talking together, and Brianne pointed up at the ceiling. It was cloudy that night. The other first years were looking around the Great Hall looking terrified. I was surprised that Brianne didn't seem scared. The Great Hall, which had been full chatter was suddenly quiet once the first years stopped behind the hat.

Brianne and Harriet both stared at the hat now, and they now looked just as scared as the rest of the people in their year. The hat was quiet for a second, and the rip in the brim opened and it began a very long song. It was so long, and in fact, it actually even warned us! Usually the hat sang a happy song, but it seemed to be serious. How odd. Others looked as shocked as I felt. Even Luna who wasn't bothered by much seemed to find this different. I wondered if she had a barmy explanation for why.

When the hat finished its song, everyone around us began murmuring about the song.

"It knows he's back," Luna whispered looking wide eyed.

I figured she was right about that one. It did sit in Dumbledores office after all. It knew everything that was going on. Professor McGonagall was now glaring over at everyone who was whispering, and the Great Hall went silent again.

I clapped for every Ravenclaw that was sorted into our house. I glanced over at Brenda to see that she was sitting up straighter to watch Brianne. It took a little bit, but finally they called out:

"Hoofer, Brianne!"

I heard Gretchen snort.

"Hoofer's must be in competition with the Weasley's," she whispered really loud.

Thankfully no one laughed, but I did glare down at her. She knew how many siblings I had. She was just being a bitch for whatever reason. I looked back at Brianne as she made her way to the stool. She climbed on it and then Professor McGongall dropped the hat on her head. It saw on her head for maybe thirty seconds before it called out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

Brianne handed the hat back to McGonagall and then ran over to the end of the table. I clapped loudly for her as I watched her greet the kids around her happily. She was going to make friends so easily I thought. Some more kids went after her before Harriet went next.

"Keller, Harriet!"

Harriet went over to the stool just as enthusiastically as Brianne had. Professor McGonagall put the hat on her head, and it didn't on her head long before it shouted out:

"Ravenclaw!"

I was relieved about this. Brianne had a best friend already in her year. Harriet ran over to the table and took a seat beside Brianne. The two put their heads together and began whispering excitedly. Happy for my little sister, I watched the rest of the sorting, clapping at the right time. Sometimes during the sortings, the older kids would hiss at some of the Slytherin's. I couldn't help but notice that there was more hissing that year. The hat had just told us that we needed house unity, and this was the opposite. They were judging these kids before they had a chance.

"So much for house unity," I heard Tasha mutter.

Once everyone was sorted, Dumbledore told us that he'd give the speech later, and to tuck in. Nick let out an excited noise when the food appeared. Now that Brianne was sorted, I was excited about the food too. I began filling my plates excitedly just as he did.

"Hey Hoofer," Gretchen called down to us. "So are your parents trying to compete with the Weasley's or what? How many more are coming? Ten?"

She burst into loud giggles.

"You're not funny," Philip said. "You're a moron in fact. Shut up."

"What?" She asked. "He's got like twenty brothers and sisters."

No one else laughed though. In fact, I thought the four boys were regretting their decision to sit with them instead of with us. We may be naive in their eyes, but they still disliked Gretchen. She continued to try and get people to laugh while the boys told her to shut up. Finally, Philip slammed his fork down on his plate.

"I'm done," he said.

He grabbed his plate, and then stood up and walked over to sit with us. Ivan got up moments later to sit with us as well, but Darren and Kevin remained where they were.

"Stop," I heard Darren tell Gretchen. "Or else we're done."

"They're dating?" Nick hissed at Philip.

"It won't last," Philip said with a shrug. "Darren just thought he couldn't get anyone else. It started before term ended last year. We've told him we'll find him a better girlfriend, but he hasn't listened. I can't see him putting up with that attitude for long though. It's why we sat with them. He thinks that since they've- well, he thinks she's a good one just because."

"Tell me they didn't," Tasha said seeming to understand something I didn't, or Nick who glanced at her in confusion.

"They did," Philip said.

"No!" Tasha said. "No way. Is he stupid? Is she?"

"What happened?" Nick asked.

"Later," Philip said.

But given Tasha's reaction, something was dawning on me as well. I glanced over at Gretchen who was now poking at her food. Darren was glaring at her. He was with her because he didn't think he could get anyone, and given her attitude he was staying because-

"No!" I said. "So they're the first ones?"

"That we know of," Ivan said. "But keep your voice down. People are looking over at us now. We'll talk about it later."

"But they're fourteen!" Tasha said.

"Lucky bloke," Nick muttered finally catching on. He bit into a drumstick.

"It's Gretchen," Philip muttered.

"Doesn't matter," Nick said. "You would too I bet."

"Nope. I have standards. I don't care if I'm the last to ever have it. Never with her. Darren can do so much better and she threatens him with that now," Philip said in a low voice. "But I think he must be coming to his senses, especially since he just threatened her and he seemed so annoyed with her on the train."

"Why didn't you tell on us on the train?" I asked. "We could have talked about it then."

"I dunno. We'll talk later," Ivan said.

Luna was listening to our conversation but it didn't seem to disturb her or shock her. Maybe she wasn't too surprised knowing that two of our housemates had shagged already. I didn't know what to feel. Part of me felt jealous that Darren already had it, but on the other hand, it was with Gretchen. I wouldn't be able to snog her let along shag her. And not to be sappy, but shouldn't you feel something for the person, especially if it was the first time?

Darren didn't like Gretchen, I could tell as I looked over at him. She was whispering with the girls now and he was staring at her with such dislike. He was awkward, but he could do better than her! Forget the fact that she wasn't close to pretty. That could be made up if the girl was sweet enough, like Anita for instance. The two girls were probably close in looks, but Anita was such a great girl. If I hadn't gone for Glenda, and I just knew her personally, I could actually go for her.

"Dormitory then," Nick muttered.

"I'll have to sneak up then," Tasha whispered back. "I want to hear this too."

"Might want to warn him," Ivan said to Philip with a grin.

"Whatever, he deserves it for even dating that wench," Philip said. "Layla would be better than Gretchen. She's not so pretty, but she's actually not that bad as a person. He can do better than both of them though."

"Well, that will be our mission this year," I said. "We'll look for an appropriate girl for Darren."

"Your sister likes him you know," Luna suddenly said.

We all looked over at her with surprise. She'd been quiet for most of the dinner so far. She'd mainly listened in on our conversations, and maybe put in a word or two but for the most part she was quiet.

"She does not," I said. "Why would you think that?"

"She stares at him all the time but I overheard her telling Kendra about it last year," she told me. "She is very jealous that he's with Gretchen right now. Look at her."

I looked over at Brenda. She indeed was giving Gretchen the stink-eye.

"It's probably cause of the Hoofer comments," I said.

"No she likes him and she is angry about that, but she is also angry that he's with Gretchen," Luna replied.

"We could always find that out for sure," Tasha said.

"But she's my sister," I said. "She's too young."

"You were younger when you started to date mate," Nick said. "And Darren isn't a bad bloke. You know he isn't."

"But he has shagged," I said through gritted teeth. "She hasn't been with anyone. She's still innocent."

"Mate," Ivan began with a sigh. "It may be hard for you to believe, because it was hard for us too at first, but it was Gretchen who pressured Darren. He didn't think he was ready for it yet, but she kept pestering him. We didn't believe it because well, he's the bloke. How many blokes need pressuring from their girlfriends to do that?"

"But we think it was her way to manipulate him," Philip continued in a whisper. "Just think of the way she is. We believed him after a while. I dunno if he would go for Brenda, but maybe he might since he's putting up with Gretchen's attitude and don't hex me for saying this, but your sister is good-looking. He would never force her to do anything she isn't comfortable with. You can't judge the bloke for shagging."

I sighed.

"I suppose but it still makes me uncomfortable," I said.

"She's going to date sometime and it's better a friend than someone you don't know," Luna told me. "Darren won't hurt her. It would be the other way around."

"She's right," Tasha told me.

"We'll talk about it later," I said. "But the whole thing makes me uncomfortable."

I didn't want Brenda dating just like I didn't want Tasha dating. Someday Brianne would date too, and I would hate that. In fact, it bothered me more than it did with Brenda. I glanced down at my little sister who was talking happily with all the first years. She was still young but a year from now she'd probably show some interest in boys. I would rather Brenda date than her, and Luna was right after all. Darren was a good bloke and it probably would be Brenda who would hurt him, not the other way around.

"She can't stay single forever mate," Philip muttered. "And as much as she can be too much, I'd rather him with her and I know you'd rather her with him then some random."

"I guess so," I said. "I never thought Brenda would want to date this young. I always thought she'd wait until her fifth or sixth year at least."

"Well I thought the same thing," Tasha said. "You change your mind after a while. Just relax Barry. She'll be fine and he may not even like her."

But I didn't want her to get rejected either. I liked Luna, but I wished she had spoken up. I knew she just meant well though, and Luna always spoke the truth. She was just being her usual self, so I could be angry with her.

Dinner soon ended, and Professor Dumbledore stood up to make the usual start of term announcements. He told us the usual announcements involving the rules, and Filch's rules. He then moved on to the new teachers at Hogwarts. He introduced the new Defense teacher as Professor Umbridge. There wasn't much applause for either her or the teacher who would was taking over for Hagrid.

As Dumbledore moved onto tell us about Quidditch try-outs, Umbridge actually stood up and interrupted him. Some people began to snicker or smirk. Clearly she didn't realize that she should wait for Professor Dumbledore to finish. He, however was polite, and sat down to let her say what she had to say.

The moment she began to talk, I felt instant dislike for her. She was talking to us as if Hogwarts was full of a bunch of five-year-olds instead of teenagers. Ben was even too old for the way she was talking to us. Most people stared back at her unimpressed. I could see Philip and Ivan were exchanging looks. She cleared her throat and then went onto some boring spew about the Ministry of magic.

"Who is this woman?" Philip asked.

"Some Ministry hag," Nick said.

"I don't like her," Tasha said.

Around us, people began talking. I glanced down the table at Brianne again to see that she was trying to listen, but just couldn't. She stretched and then turned to talk Harriet. The other first years began talk as well. Looking around the Great Hall, it was to see that most people were talking. Professor Umbridge didn't seem to notice or even care. Luna was reading one of her fathers magazines.

"I have a feeling she is going to be a dud," I said with a sigh. "She's going to be one of those useless teachers I bet. Probably worse than Lockhart."

"Likely," Nick said. "Bet she'll make us learn wand safety or something dull."

"Considering she is talking to us like we're children, it will be how to hold a wand," Philip said.

"Why can't this school hire real teachers?" Tasha asked.

"Dumbledore didn't hire her. The Ministry did which explains everything," I said but I didn't elaborate on why, not with this lot around.

By the time she finished talking, barely anyone was listening and everyone was surprised when she was done talking, no one realized it at first until Dumbledore started to clap. Very few people joined in and then Dumbledore stood up to finish up the rest of the announcements. I just couldn't believe we had another horrible teacher. It was just a year before fifth year. We needed a good teacher, and unfortunately, it seemed that once again, we wouldn't.

Once we were dismissed, we all got up. Around us, people were complaining about Professor Umbridge. Some of the loudest complainers were coming from the fifth and seventh years, and I couldn't blame them. How were they supposed to be prepared for their OWLs and NEWTs?

"Maybe we're just judging her prematurely," Tasha said. "Maybe she is just nervous."

"She wasn't nervous," I heard Brenda say behind us once we reached the Entrance Hall. I paused to look back at her, people continued to walk around us. "I think I am one of the few who actually listened to her," she continued.

"Well, I mean, it was kind of hard," Nick said to her as he stopped as well.

"I know, but what she said we

be worried about," Brenda said in a lower voice. "Especially after what mum and dad said. Even the Sorting Hat senses his return but the Ministry is refusing to believe it."

"Well we already guessed that," I said. "What does what she said have to do with any of it?"

"Because," Brenda said in an even lower voice so we had to strain to hear her. People were still walking past us. "The Ministry is trying to interfere at Hogwarts. She basically said they are going to change things and get rid of certain things!"

"You got that out of all that gibberish?" Kendra asked her.

"Yes," Brenda responded. "And after what mum and dad said, we should all be worried! Which means," she hissed looked straight at me. "No rule breaking this year! Not with that woman around. I'm sorry Barry, I can't help you out this year. Even if you go through another break up! We all need to be on our guard."

And without another word, she walked off with Kendra rushing after her.

"In other words," Nick began once she'd disappeared, "she is going back to ratting people out again. So we're going to have to be very careful with her around."

"But maybe we should be careful," Tasha said who'd kept quiet. "I mean, if Brenda is right, what if she is the type to just expel people for no reason?"

"We should get to the common room," I replied dully. "I want to see how Brianne is."

I had a feeling that Tasha and Brenda were right. Not that I did a lot of rule breaking, but I did worry a bit. I wondered what Ralph and Chester thought. They were in the seventh year now, and they would be taking their NEWTs soon. We took the secret passageways until we reached the spiraling staircase that would take us up to the common room. I was hoping Brianne hadn't gone to bed yet, and if she had, that Chester and Ralph would still be up.

Sure enough, when we finally entered, it was to find the common room almost full. The topic of conversation was of course about Unbridge. I saw Brianne, Harriet, and Isabella whispering together, so I hurried over to them.

"So you're finally seeing the common room," I said to her with a grin.

"Three down, one to go," Brianne said to me. "I never imagined it to be this beautiful," she said. "I see what you mean about it being airy and all the bookcases! Ooh this is almost how I wanted my bedroom to look! Remember that? I mean not round obviously, but with the starry ceiling, the colour of the carpets and the bookcase niche!"

"I know," I said with a smile. "I kept some of it secret. I asked Brenda to as well, and I am glad she did. I remember when you drew that picture. You should keep some of it secret for Benny- er Ben now."

Years ago, Brianne had drawn a picture of how she wanted her room to look and it was similar to the Ravenclaw common room. She'd wanted glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, blue carpet, a little niche with bookshelves so she could read, and Ravenclaw banners. Brenda had thrown a stink about it however. Even with the divider, Brenda didn't want it. Now Brianne's dream was coming true, and I had a feeling that she was going to beg mum and dad to change her side of the room now. Brenda was across the room, and Brianne was staring over at her determinedly.

"Someday, my room is going to look like this," she said confirming my thoughts. "Even if I have to wait until I'm bigger and I have my own place. I'm talking to mum and dad at Christmas though! Maybe I can do it when Brenda moves out."

"Hate to break it to you," Nick told her. "But I think Brenda will be there much longer than you. From what she has said, she doesn't plan to move out until she is twenty-five."

"Wait what?" I asked looking at Nick.

"Why?" Brianne asked making a face. "I'm moving out when I'm done Hogwarts. I love mum and dad and I love our house but I want my own space!"

"I think I know why," I said but I didn't explain why in case Brianne hadn't told Isabella and Harriet about the trust funds we would get for our twenty-fifth birthdays.

I glanced over at my sister with surprise. She appeared to be arguing with a couple of second year boys now. She wanted to be a freeloader. I wasn't going to say anything to her or mum and dad. It would be up to them to say something to her. Our parents never wanted us to think we should rely on the family money. It was actually the reason why our late grandparents wanted us to wait until we were twenty-five. They wanted us to learn responsibility and to earn money on our own.

"Mum and dad won't like that," Brianne said, again, sensing what I had been thinking.

"Don't say anything to her or mum and dad," I told her. "Let them all deal with it on their own."

"Okay you lot," we heard someone shout to everyone in the common room and I turned to see it was my own cousin, Chester. "Time for bed. You have all school year to catch up!"

"He was made Head Boy?" Tasha asked. "I wonder how Ralph feels about that."

"Knowing Ralph, he turned it down," I said. "He likes being a prefect, but being a Head would take up to much of his time. I think he wants to work in the Department of Mysteries someday. He won't want anything distracting him. Chester just wants a Ministry job. We should go up," and then I looked back at Brianne. "Make sure you tell me how classes are for you."

"I will," she said smiling. "See you tomorrow, Barry."

There was a bit of a line up to get into the dorms. As we made our way, it made me remember that we were going to talk to the boys about Gretchen and Darren. I still wasn't too sure about pairing with him with my little sister, but the others were right, I had to get used to the idea of her dating. And perhaps a bit of snogging would calm her down.


	26. Fourth Year Part Two

The next day, I felt groggy as the alarm went off. We'd stayed up late that night talking to Darren, who had finally agreed that it was better that he broke up with Gretchen. Tasha had joined us for a bit, but after a while had gone to her own dorm, but it wasn't until close to two that we finally got through to him that he could do much better. I grudgingly gave him permission to date my sister under the threat that if he pressured her I would hex a certain part of his body.

At breakfast, I poked at my sausage and jumped a bit when Brianne sat down excitedly beside me.

"Geez, did you pull an all nighter?" She asked as she looked at my face. "Why do you look so tired? Why didn't you go to sleep right away? I was so excited for today but I still slept great. And guess what? Most of the girls in my dorm seem all right," and she whispered in my ear. "Most seem to believe that you-know-who is back. Only a couple don't."

"Have you always been this perky in the morning?" Nick asked her as he too looked up tiredly.

"Sometimes," I answered for her.

"Did you lot have a back to school party or something?" She asked as she looked around at all the tired faces around us. Most of the fourth years except Gretchen, Samaira, and Katrina. Luna was with us, but she was the only one who looked as if she'd gotten some sleep.

I didn't want to tell my eleven-year-old sister what we'd really been talking about so I just nodded.

"Yes, something like that," I told her. "Once you get to know your dorm mates more, you will probably be the same too."

"Maybe," Brianne said. "But I don't want to fall asleep the first day of classes."

"Soon you'll find the first day of school isn't as exciting," Philip told her. "You're really by the way," he added and I sent him a glare.

"Shut it!" Nick snapped at him.

"Relax, you two," Philip said. "It's just a compliment."

I was a little shocked, but I suppose I couldn't have been too shocked that he'd gotten all big brother with her. He'd known her since she was just eight-years-old after all. The two of them had always been close as well.

"Thank you," Brianne said happily. "Barry, you'll have to introduce me to your dorm mates later when you're not so tired. I should go back to the first years. I'll see you later if you're not too tired."

And without waiting for me to say anything, she got up and moved down the table.

"She seems sweet and not unkind," Luna spoke up.

"Her and Brenda are as different as night and day," I said.

"I'll say," Ivan said. "Too upbeat in the morning though."

"It depends," I said. "Sometimes she is like that, and other times she can be as grumpy as Brenda is."

"I don't think Brianne can ever be like that," Nick said. "Even at her worst, and I don't think I've ever seen her grumpy."

"So did you talk to Gretchen?" Tasha asked Darren in a low voice.

"Not yet," Darren responded. "I meant to talk to her before we came in here, but- well… we saw Potter and so we just all kind of stuck together, you know?"

Nick snorted. "What did you think he was going to do? Attack you in the corridor? It's one thing not believe him, but it's another to behave like that."

"He's going to prove that he is mad," Philip responded with a shrug. "And sooner than you think. The three of you will finally understand."

We couldn't say much more on the topic because Flitwick came down the table to hand out our time-tables. I was excited until I took a look at it and realized that our very first class was with Professor Umbridge. The rest of the day looked okay however.

"At least we get it over and done with," Ivan said. "We'll know right away what we are getting for a teacher. Maybe she won't be bad. We all thought Lupin would be bad."

But our first impression on her was right. Once we were all seated in the Defense classroom, she began the class by lecturing us to greet her properly, and then put up the course aims. Her teaching plan was to have us just read from the book and not even practice magic. She didn't tell us this, but it was written right there on the board in front of us. How were we supposed to learn anything? How would we be prepared next year? What about Brianne? She would be in the same boat I had been.

It wasn't until the end of class that people began to complain.

"How can we learn anything with that woman?" Tasha said.

"Well," Nick said in a low voice. "There is always that book you have," he said to me with a nod. "Perhaps we'll just have to research what level we're supposed to be and do it that way. We'll do it in the dorm when we have to. It's the best we can do. Not much else we can do, but we can't let ourselves get behind like we did in first year."

"We'll help Brianne too," I said. "But I don't think we should tell Brenda. Normally I'd want to help her but… well, you heard her last night."

As it turned out, our plan was a good one. The day for us went really well but at dinner, we heard that there had been a huge fight between Harry Potter and Professor Umbridge. He'd spoken the truth about You-Know-Who, but apparently Hermione had questioned Umbridge about why they weren't learning magic. From what we heard, Professor Umbridge was basically forbidding it. The fifth years had been in an uproar to learn that they wouldn't be doing actual spellwork until their OWLs.

Of course most people were ignoring that part. They were too focused on commenting on how mad Harry was for telling Umbridge the truth.

"Didn't I tell you?" Philip asked us. "What happened in his Defense class just proves that."

"It proves how delusional you are," Nick retorted. "How can you trust the Ministry at the moment? It was them who assigned her as our teacher you know!"

"They might have been wrong about her," Philip said. "And I plan to complain to my parents about it, but they aren't wrong about Harry. If anything, we should be blaming Harry for her being assigned here. We're missing out on a real education because of his attention seeking stories!"

I sighed and shook my head at Nick who opened his mouth in anger. There was no point in arguing with our classmates over this. All around us people were divided over this. I ate the rest of dinner as fast as I could, and then left to go back to the common room. I'd told Brianne earlier in the day to introduce us to her new friends, and to tell us about her day.

Once we were in the common room, we chose our usual spot and waited for the first years. It made me reflect back to Brenda's first year. I hadn't done this with her. I'd wanted her to stay away from me, and I still felt the same way even now. I was hoping she wouldn't join us though I wouldn't tell her to go away if she did. In a few years, I would do the same with Ben as well. It was hard to believe that in a few years, all the B Hoofer's would be in the same common room. Perhaps the four of us would sit together with our friends.

"What are you smiling about?" Tasha asked me and I told her.

"Unless he gets his wish that he isn't in Ravenclaw," Nick said.

"I don't think he really wishes that," I said. "I think he just hates the idea of it being expected. To be honest, I think he'd be upset if he wasn't sorted with us even if he says he wouldn't be."

"Maybe, but maybe not," Tasha said. "I think Ben will be fine anywhere he goes. I think he will be here too, but sometimes I think I see Hufflepuff in him."

"Or even Slytherin. He has a thirst to prove himself."

"He could even be Gryffindor," Tasha added. "He might be one of those kids who are a hatstall."

"I don't know about Gryffindor," I said. "He isn't all that brave."

"It's hard to judge a little boy when it comes to that," Nick said. "And he has stood up to Brenda on a number of occasions. I don't think it's fair to really say that yet."

"Ben can be quite brave," Brianne said as she joined us with Harriet and a few other little girls.

I hadn't really given the first years much thought the night before, but as I looked over the girls my sister had brought over, I realized just how small they really were. Had I ever been that little? It was hard to believe I'd been that small just three years ago. They were all staring back at me, and then a small blond girl whispered something to the red head beside her and they began to giggle. I felt self-conscious all of a sudden. Did I have food on my face?

"What?" Brianne asked as she looked at her two friends.

"Is that

Barry?" The blond asked her as she looked back at me.

"Yes, that's my brother Barry, and the other two are Nick and Tasha," Brianne said looking confused. "Come sit down."

The blond grinned at me and took the empty spot beside me while the others sat down around us. The blond continued to stare at me and now I felt annoyed.

"What?" I finally asked her.

"You're

cute," she told me. "My name is Hilda. I know I am a first year, but I am actually turning twelve in a few weeks. So that means I am only two years younger than you."

"I'm turning fifteen in December," I said now understanding. "I'm too old for you."

I was surprised but flattered at the same time. I couldn't believe how bold this little girl could be however. She was just shy of twelve and she could already ask someone out, or basically ask them out. At her age, I was still so nervous about girls and I didn't understand my feelings too well. It was obvious she knew her feelings and she was definitely going for what she wanted.

"Well maybe in a couple years then," she said.

"Really Hilda?" Brianne asked.

"I like what I see," she replied with a shrug.

Meanwhile, both Nick and Tasha were both trying to contain their laughter, but they both suddenly began laughing very loud. I was surprised that even Tasha was laughing. She usually seemed annoyed for some reason when girls said something to me. It was actually funny, and I would probably laugh later, but at the moment, I was still in awe.

"And my brother is off limits to you," Brianne said.

"For now," Hilda sang.

Brianne shot her a look of annoyance but she didn't say anything else to her. Instead, she began to introduce the other girls. The girl with red hair was named Eileen and the last one, who was an Indian girl named Saanvi. She was staring at Nick instead of at me. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she looked down with a big grin on her face. Brianne looked angry with her as well.

"So how was your first day?" Tasha asked them.

"It was okay," Hilda answered quickly. "But drama as well, you know? All this You-Know-Who business, and people thinking Harry is mad."

"A couple of the other girls in Ravenclaw first year said," Brianne explained. "They seem quite nasty. Esther seems like she should have been Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw."

"Tabby doesn't seem any better," Saanvi said. "It's going to be a nightmare sharing with them, and a lot of the boys are divided too. A lot of the first year seems to be."

"Our parents warned us that would happen," I told them. "But you all believe Harry?"

"My mum doesn't believe he would ever make things like that up," Hilda said. "After what happened to his parents? And after last year? She was quite upset to know he still cries about his parents. So why would he make up lies about You-Know-Who?"

"Our parents know the truth," Harriet said. "Mum and dad said to stay out of trouble though. They said just to do our school work and not to anger anyone."

"And I hope you lot take that advice," Brenda said as she walked over to us sans Kendra. She was looking more at me than she was at Brianne though. "I haven't had Umbridge yet, but I've heard stories. So introduce me to your friends, Brianne."

Brianne quickly introduced her friends to Brenda, but she looked a bit annoyed. I had a feeling it was from the bossy tone in her voice.

"You're quite pretty you know," Hilda said to Brenda. "But you should pluck your eyebrows."

"Looks aren't the most important thing, and my eyebrows are fine," Brenda said.

The expression she gave Hilda was of instant dislike. I'd seen that look many times before. It was a look she'd given some of the girls in her own year, or even in my year. Hilda was giving her the same look, and Brianne looked nervous, as if she worried the two girls were about to have a cat fight or something. Hilda and Brenda stared at each other as if having a staring contest or something.

"Well, suit yourself," Hilda finally said as she finally said looked away. "But mum has always said that the eyebrows are your most important facial feature. You have natural beauty of course, but you could be even more pretty if you groomed your eyebrows."

"It's a pity your mother teaches you more about silly stuff instead of the important stuff," Brenda retorted. "It's a wonder you are even in Ravenclaw at all."

"You can care about your looks and still be smart," Hilda said not backing down. "I went to a muggle school, and I was one of the top in my class. I love reading, but that doesn't mean I neglect my looks. You can care about both you know."

"Brianne, I suggest you find better friends," Brenda said. "I came over to meet them, but I don't think I'll like any of them. You need to succeed in life, and not worry about stupid things like your looks."

And she got up and headed to the dormitory door. We all stared after her. I had to agree with Hilda, even if she was quite young. What was wrong with caring about your appearance? While I didn't obsess like most girls did, I did take care of myself. I happened to like girls who looked like they took care of themselves. Glenda had been smart even though she obvious took great pains to look gorgeous. I glanced at Brianne who was staring at the dormitory door with disgust.

"There is no arguing with her," Brianne finally said as she looked at Hilda. "I'm sorry about her. I've tried telling her about her eyebrows for over a year, but she hasn't listened. I mean, when I was eight, mum let me try on her makeup and you know what? Brenda actually

her about it. She told our own

that she was making me vain. I've never seen what was wrong with dressing up and looking pretty. I mean, you don't have to dress up to look pretty but it's soo fun. I was so jealous last year about the Yule Ball. I mean, you like dressing up and everything, don't you Tasha?" Brianne added as she looked at Tasha.

"Of course," Tasha said. "It's fun and no offense to your brother or Nick, but I've always wished I had closer girl friends to do that with. I mean, sometimes Samaira, Katrina, and Gretchen will do it but it's not the same as having a best girlfriend. Maybe sometimes we can have makeovers. It's so much fun, and I can show you lot what to do when it comes to makeup. You never want to put

much on after all, I mean, if that's okay with you Barry," she added to me and I shrugged.

"I don't care," I said.

In a way, I thought my eleven-year-old sister was too young to be wearing makeup, but I also remembered the girls had worn it when I'd been a first year. And it was true that mum had loved dressing up Brianne. She'd always been disappointed that Brenda didn't want anything to do with being girly. Tasha wore makeup, but it was always subtle, so if I could pick anyone to help my sister with that sort of thing, it would be my best friend.

"Good, maybe this weekend we can have a girls night," she said and all the girls nodded enthusiastically at this. "I have too much homework right now, but I'm sure I'll be done on the weekend."

"Well, I am offended," Nick said. "I always thought you liked us Tasha. Now I'm finding out that we've never been good enough just because we don't want to wear makeup. Well, maybe I want a makeover too."

"You and Barry can give each other makeovers," Brianne said giggling.

"I'd love to see that," Tasha said.

"I think Barry looks great the way he is," Hilda said. "He doesn't need to change anything."

"Neither does Nick," Saanvi said and she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Nick just smiled at her, but I was sure he didn't know what to do. He'd had girls flirt with him in the past, but he knew that this girl was much too young for him. Tasha and Brianne who had been giggling moments before were now glaring at them. I'd never thought I would see the day when my little sister would be protective of me. It was supposed to be me getting protective of her when someone flirted.

"Stop it," Brianne said.

"Oh what is the harm Brianne?" Hilda asked. "You do know that girls will flirt with your brother. I'm willing to bet he has had girlfriends."

"He's too old for you," Brianne said. "There are other boys for you."

"Oh I know," Hilda said. "And when I'm a third year I won't be too young," she said. "I'll be fourteen and he will be sixteen going on seventeen. My older sister dated a seventh year when she was a fourth year here."

Brianne looked at me and rolled her eyes, but then she grinned down at the table. I would have to tell her later not to be so hard on Hilda. She wasn't hurting anyone after all. I would never go for her, but there was nothing wrong with flirting either. I knew my little sister just cared about me though, and she had similar feelings that I had when it came to Brenda and her. I'd just never thought I would have my baby sister protecting me. Brenda was one thing, but Brianne was still so young… but as I gazed at her, I realized that she wasn't so young after all. I'd hated it when people saw me as a little boy when back in first year, and while I would look after her, I had to give her that same respect.

The next day was quite uneventful, though Luna did surprise us after a Herbology lesson when she boldly told Harry Potter that she believed him. Gretchen, Samaira, and Katrina laughed at her while the fifth year Gryffindor girls did too. I did wonder if the older girls were laughing more at the fact that she wore Dirigible plum-shaped earrings. They were pointing at her, so I believed it had more to do with that. Being used to her wearing odd things, I hadn't really given it much thought until that moment.

"Ooh we believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back!" Gretchen shrieked to Luna after the fifth years had disappeared.

"Leave her alone," Nick said angrily to Gretchen. "At least she can speak her mind!"

"I speak my mind all the time!" Gretchen said. "I just don't believe in mad things! Right Darren?"

Philip nudged Darren who clearly hadn't broken up with her yet.

"Er- Gretchen, why don't we have a talk," Darren said.

"Now? But we still need to get to History of Magic," she said with surprise.

"I'm sure Binns won't notice we aren't there," Darren said. "Come, let's go take a walk across the grounds."

"But it's all icky out here," she said as she glanced up at the overcast sky.

"Let's go," Tasha murmured in my ear.

She walked over to Luna who for once was glaring at Gretchen. Usually, she had a serene kind of look on her face, but at the moment she looked furious. Tasha linked arms with Luna and we began making our way to History of Magic. We hurried ahead of the others who were walking slowly, and talking about Darren and Gretchen.

"That was brave of you Luna," I told her as we made our way to the castle. "At least you're not cringing at the very sight of him like they are. They stand there and laugh, but they're just wimps. Nick is right. It's one thing to not believe, but to be scared of him?"

"Unfortunately most of the idiots in our school don't see it that way," Nick said. "And someday they'll realize he is telling the truth, and yet, I don't want that day to come. It will be scary when it does happen. And I think when he does come out in the open, mum and dad won't let me come to school."

"I think my parents can convince them," I said. "They'll try anyway. Hogwarts is the safest place to be after all."

Luna for once didn't have anything odd to say. She was oddly quiet, and I didn't know if it had to do with her confrontation with the Gryffindor girls or not. I was surprised with Hermione Granger however. She obviously knew that Harry was telling the truth, so why would she argue with Luna?

The rest of the week passed rather quickly. The teachers piled the homework up high, and when people complained, the teachers reminded us that our OWLs were just a year away. I wanted to ask why then did we have a useless Defense teacher if they cared so much about our exams but I didn't, especially when it came to Umbridge. Everyone in the school knew what had happened with Harry Potter by that point.

I knew mum and dad would be angry if I ended up in the same situation, and so as hard as it was, I kept my mouth shut. I did write a letter home in complaint however. Perhaps if a lot of people had their parents complain about this woman, the Ministry would realize that it wasn't a good idea to have her as a teacher. The school governors had to see sense after all.

"As horrible as that Malfoy boy is, maybe his family will do something," Tasha said Friday night in the common room, after classes. "Don't they have great influence at the Ministry? Even if his father is no longer on the school board-"

"I wouldn't count on it," Nick interrupted. "By the sounds of it, Lucius Malfoy is doing everything he can to please the Ministry. Right now especially," and he lowered his voice. "I mean, come on, we all know that he was part of what happened last year. He'll be doing his best to keep them from knowing the secret. He's probably the one feeding them the lies about Harry."

"Oh you know he is," I said. "And he'll want to keep in their good books to pass secrets to You-Know-Who. The more Death Eaters in the Ministry, the better."

And I wondered if they had secrets in the Order group as well. I couldn't say anything however. I'd promised my parents I wouldn't. I hated having this secret from Tasha and Nick though. I told them basically everything. It was rare when I didn't tell them things. I wanted to ask mum and dad if I could just please tell them, but that had to wait until Christmas.

"Hey kids," Chester said as he and Ralph sat down at the table with us.

I was glad for the interruption.

"Ooh how do you like being Head Boy?" Tasha asked. "I hope I'm Head Girl."

"I'm sure you will be," Ralph told her. "You do quite well. I think the two of you will be the Ravenclaw prefects. I'll be putting in my recommendations for you two anyway."

"Can you do that?" I asked. "Won't they see it as favoritism?"

"No, and they know I wouldn't recommend just because you're my cousin," Ralph replied. "The Prefects are always asked who they recommend and I think it will be unanimous at least for Tasha, but I'm sure a lot has noticed you as well. Most of the Prefects have had problems with that little Gretchen wench in your year and the other girls haven't shown they are Prefect material either. No, I'm sure you both will be fine."

"Head Boy has it's positives and negatives," Chester told Tasha. "But mostly positive. We have so much to oversee though and I'm not fond of the Head Girl. It doesn't work too well when you don't get along with the person you're supposed to be in charge with. Plus this Umbridge woman is a nightmare. I have a feeling she'll try to overstep boundaries."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I think she's trying to take over Hogwarts," Chester said. "And I think she'll use her own methods and our authority won't mean anything. You did hear her speech at the beginning of the year didn't you? The Ministry is trying to interfere at Hogwarts. Mum and dad said that's why she was appointed here. It wasn't just because Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, and believe me, he had a hard time finding someone. No, Fudge put her here to keep Dumbledore and Harry quiet. I'm sure you lot heard what happened in Harry's fifth year class. They already tried to expel him. They'll try again."

"So you lot need to keep your nose clean," Ralph said with a wink.

"Brenda said all of that, and by the sounds of it, she will try to rat us out if we even try," I said wondering if my cousins would change their tune as well. Last year they had been fun, but perhaps not this year.

"So I guess that means no secret Hogsmeade visits this year?" Nick asked them.

"Well, if you do, be careful. In fact, tell us," Chester said.

"You mean you'll still let us?" Tasha asked even though she hadn't been a part of it last year. "Even with you being Head Boy and with everything that is going on?"

"I'm not going to go all Brenda on you," Chester said. "And I'd be a hypocrite to tell on you. It's not as if we'll stop. I'd just rather you let me know. We all need to be open and honest with each other from now on, and that means we have to trust each other too. Though I'd advise you to do whatever you can to keep Brenda from finding out. I don't think she realizes that if she rats you out, she could get you thrown out as well."

"And I think she'll do whatever it takes to get that Prefect badge as well," Ralph said. "Even if that means betraying her own brother and listening to someone she doesn't like. Last year she pitied you, but she isn't stupid. She knows what is at stake."

"But she should be loyal to us as well," I said. "I know she isn't a Hufflepuff but all of us have loyalty anyway. It's not just a Hufflepuff trait."

"But shouldn't we keep her in the loop then?" Tasha asked. "If she thought we were plotting against us-"

"Brenda would sell us out," I told her. "Ralph is right. She even told us she wouldn't always be able to help us break the rules. She did it last year because I was heart broken and she almost lost Kendra. However, she knows Umbridge is doing her best to look out for rule breakers, and Brenda won't sacrifice her grades or her badge. She won't do anything that risks expulsion. If she had the choice between being expelled or turning one of us in, she will turn us in."

"Are you sure you aren't misjudging her?" Tasha asked,

"Maybe, but it's not a risk we're willing to take," Ralph said. "Did you hear about Percy Weasley? He walked out on his own family last summer. He was an older version of Brenda, and he walked out on his own family."

"Mum and dad told me about that," Nick said. "But that was because he doesn't believe his family about You-Know-Who. It's not exactly the same. Brenda knows he is back."

"True, but she'll still pick her future over loyalty," I said. "I could see her walking out on us if it went against her beliefs. She told us that last year. I can see her selling us out if it meant she didn't have to be kicked out."

The three of us didn't realize just how right we were. Tasha and Nick were exchanging looks as if they didn't believe us, but I had grown up with Brenda. I knew what she could be like. Last year was one thing, but this year a lot more was at stake.

"Hello," Brianne said as she threw her arms around Chester's neck. "Look who went and made himself Head Boy. I always wondered if one of you two would. It seems be Hoofer tradition after all."

"Little Brianne!" Ralph said excitedly. "I still can't believe you're here. I knew you were coming but you'll always be that little girl who used to be Barry's shadow."

"Maybe she still is," Chester said as he turned his in chair to hug her. "You're getting too pretty. Barry is going to have to look out for you in a few years. Mind you, you may have to look out for him as well. He's going to be quite handsome when he is seventeen."

Brianne beamed at him and then moved to fall in a chair.

"How d'you know that?" She asked. "I mean, I know my brother is good looking and he already has the girls in my year in love with him, but you sound as if you already know."

"I take it you didn't tell little sister what you did?" Ralph asked me and I shook my head. "These two took an aging potion when we snuck into Hogsmeade last year. Your brother was seventeen for an hour."

"That's what it does?" Brianne asked. "Like I know it ages you but I didn't know it made you look how you would look eventually. Do you think you can make more? It would be so cool to go to Hogsmeade someday."

"I still have some," I told her. "But we'd have to be careful about it. The less people who know, the better. If you tell any of your friends, I think it would be best if it was just Isabella and Harriet. And never talk about it in front of Brenda."

"Okay, so when are we going to do it then?" Brianne asked eagerly.

"Only here a week and already a rule breaker," Chester said with a grin. "You'd better hold on for a while Brianne. We're still trying to gather what kind of a person Umbridge really is."

"Instead, why don't we do our makeovers tomorrow night?" Tasha suggested. "Get the girls, and Isabella too if she wants and we'll have a girls night in my dorm. The other girls won't go in there. It's library night for them. Well, maybe Luna will come down but usually they stay in the library until closing time and then if there is a party they join the party."

"Sounds good," Brianne said excitedly. "I love doing makeup. I wish you were my older sister instead of Brenda."

Nick muttered something I didn't hear, but Tasha did. Whatever it was made her glare over at him.

"Well, enjoy your weekend kids," Chester said as he stood up and he turned to Ralph. "We're supposed to patrol soon. You should round up your prefect. You're down on the first floor today. Talk to you lot later."

"Can you imagine being a Head someday?" Brianne asked. "Chester is in charge of so much. Someday that could be your responsibility Barry, or even mine!"

"Not likely," we heard Brenda say as she sat down in the chair Ralph had been in. "I've been watching you all week Brianne. Those girls you hang out with are too silly. Now, I scoped out the other two girls in Ravenclaw and they seem more serious. The boys on the other hand-"

"You can't pick my friends for me," Brianne told her. "So don't even try it! You know those girls don't believe You-Know-Who is back?" she asked in a lower voice.

Brenda gave a shrug.

"Are you serious?" I demanded. "You think she should hang out with people who are in denial?"

"Do they have to discuss his return?" Brenda asked. "Is that the only requirement to friendship?"

"Obviously not, but you should be friends with people you trust. People who are on the same page as you. These two are my friends because I can trust them, we get along, and we have common interests. We knew it the moment we met that we could be friends," I told her. "And I am sure Brianne feels the same with her friends. It's why you're friends with Kendra isn't it?"

"But friends should also help you with your school work. They shouldn't hold you back and unfortunately, as much as I care about Kendra, she might hold me back," Brenda said.

I saw Nick raise his eyebrows when she said this. We'd basically just said she would do something like this. Tasha looked indignant.

"She's your best friend!" Tasha said angrily. "How can you even say that? She is very loyal to you. All of us sitting here know that! You said you had a wake-up call last year. What can you possibly be talking about?"

"You sure know about loyalty don't you?" Brenda snapped at her. "After what you did to me."

"I apologized for that and you forgave me!" Tasha said.

"Brenda what are you talking about?" I asked angrily. "And don't throw the past in people's faces. You hate it when people do it to you. How can you possibly be thinking of dropping Kendra when she has been

but loyal to you!?"

"She is going against Umbridge," Brenda said. "And I don't want to drop her, but going against Umbridge is the dumbest thing anyone could do! Look at what happened to Potter. He should just keep his mouth shut about You-Know-Who instead of shouting about it in class! He knows what is at stake! He was almost expelled already, and he has just had a week of detention. He should be keeping it between his friends. We all know that You-Know-Who is hiding out for the moment. So why is he blathering on about and risking expulsion?"

Nick and Tasha looked at each other and then looked at her.

"Did you ever stop to think there are more important things than expulsion?" Nick asked. "It's better the world knows he is back now instead of letting him gain strength underground!"

"But at what cost?" Brenda asked. "Look at what is happening to Dumbledore and Harry! I know he is back but I'm not going to risk getting expelled by talking about or going against Umbridge. What use will any of us be if we're expelled?"

"But joining ranks with her?" Nick asked. "It sounds as if you'd be one of her little spies. You know that's what she is trying to do right? I heard the boys talking about it in the dorms. One of our dorm mates is friends with Seamus Finnigan and apparently he told them everything that happened in that class. She actually told people that they should spy or her. Seamus doesn't believe Harry, but even he wouldn't go that far."

"If it means I don't get expelled," Brenda said with a suggestion and she stood up again. "And I really think you lot should rethink your priorities as well. You-Know-Who is in hiding at the moment. It's stupid to go against the Ministry and Umbridge. I bet even mum and dad would tell you two that as well. Barry, you should be careful what you tell Brianne. She looks up to you."

"And she can hear you," Brianne snapped. "You should rethink your loyalties and priorities Brenda."

Brenda just rolled her eyes and walked off.

"What did we tell you?" Brianne said once she was gone. "She's going to be looking over my shoulder and ratting me out to mum and dad all year I bet. What if she rats us out to Umbridge Barry?"

"We'll just have to be very careful, and keep on the lookout for her," I said.

I hated to think that about my own sister, but I'd known her for thirteen years. After hearing about Percy Weasley walking out on his own family, someone who Brenda admired, I knew she was capable of anything. She'd ratted me out many times the last couple of years in hopes I'd get a spanking, so I knew that she would turn against us. I told Brianne all this quickly.

"I know. She did the same to us. She tried getting me spanked last Christmas. I was so happy when she stayed for Easter. Mum and dad actually told her she should stay you know," Brianne said.

"I wondered about that," Nick said. "They insisted that she come home for Christmas, so I was surprised they didn't want her home at Easter. What did you do that she thought you should be spanked over?"

"I accidentally knocked one of mum's favourite vases over. Mum is used to those breaking though. She often has to recast charms on them so they won't break if one of us has a magical temper tantrum. Anyway, Ben and I were playing and I knocked it over. Mum of course told her if she kept trying that with us, it would be her who would have a sore butt, so she got upset," Brianne explained. "That's why we know that she would sell us out."

"I knew she ratted you lot out for petty things but I'm still surprised she'd go that far," Tasha said. "She did a complete three sixty from last Easter."

"We'll just have to be careful she doesn't sneak up on us," I said not realizing just how right I was.


	27. Fourth Year Part Three

The weekend was very relaxing. Brenda kept her distance, but the rest of us had fun. Tasha and the girls had their makeovers, and I was surprised to see how much older my baby sister could look after she was done right up. I didn't like it, but I didn't complain about it either. I didn't want to ruin her happy moment. Of course Hilda tried flirting with me, but I did my best to ignore her. I hoped someday she would turn her attention on some boy her own age though.

We managed to get all our homework done despite the workload we were given, so by Monday morning, everyone seemed chipper, especially since Gretchen was avoiding all of us. We didn't have to listen to her nasty remarks about my family, or hear her insult Harry Potter. The others disagreed with him as well, but at least with Philip and his friends, they didn't make it the main topic. They wanted to continue to get along with us, so they kept their mouths shut about it.

Philip had started to read the Daily Prophet while we ate when he suddenly let out a shout.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked. "They can't!"

"What?" Several of us asked.

He spread the Daily Prophet out over his breakfast and pointed to the front page. Our question was answered right away. A large picture of Professor Umbridge was in the paper, and the title: "MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM – DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR"

Philip read through the article which basically stated that she would have power over Dumbledore. She was going to be inspecting our teachers, and whoever she deemed unfit, she could get rid of them. I wondered if even Brenda realized what this meant. As these thoughts entered my mind, she walked over and muttered in my ear.

"You see what I mean?" She asked before walking off.

I felt chilled about this. Percy Weasley had been quoted in that article stating his support for her. What if Brenda became the next Percy Weasley? I didn't want to think about that but I knew all of us had to be on our guard. While I wasn't going to support Umbridge, I knew that we had to be very quiet in class with her that morning. I hated the fact that I had to do it, but I couldn't pull a Harry Potter either. Brenda was right about that, but it didn't mean I would support her either.

"I wonder if she'll inspect any of our classes," Tasha said once we left the Great Hall. "It will be funny to see her inspect McGonagall or Snape won't it?"

"I just thought about Hagrid," Nick said looking worried. "Mum and dad wouldn't tell me why he isn't here but they said he has a good reason for it. They told me not to draw attention to it, but I mean it's been obvious. What if she sacks him for not being here?"

"I wonder why he isn't here," Tasha said. "To be honest, I have to admit it's a nice change to have a Care of Magical Creatures class where we aren't scared, but he's our friend. He didn't even say anything last term did he?"

"Mum and dad say it's important and I think it has to do with what happened last term with the Goblet of Fire and You-Know-Who," Nick said in a really low voice. "They refused to tell me… well, they said they don't know much themselves except it's important and it's a good reason but what other explanation is it? He's close to Dumbledore after all. He wrote to them I guess but I dunno if he said why or anything, or if he just informed them that he was going away and not to worry."

"I doubt he'd say why in a letter," Tasha replied. "Not when letters can be intercepted, especially from anyone who is close to Dumbledore. He probably just told them he was going away. If it's true it's for Dumbledore, he wouldn't want to risk it being read. But I wonder what Dumbledore would get him to do and why a teacher? It's risky for the teachers to do anything isn't it?"

"From some things mum and dad said," I whispered. "I get the feeling some of the teachers are doing something underground too with Dumbledore. If You-Know-Who is going underground for followers, you know Dumbledore is too."

I knew more than that of course, except whatever it was that Hagrid was doing. In fact, it was news to me that Hagrid wasn't even around but I'd assumed certain teachers were part of the Order. I was willing to bet all of the gold I'd brought that Harry and his friends were part of it too. As we made our way to the Defense classroom, I wondered if the all the Weasley family but Percy was involved. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he'd walked out and not just because they believed Harry. I sighed as I wished I could talk to my parents.

"You know," Nick whispered and he paused and beckoned us to come closer. "I think you're right and what if our parents are part of it as well, Barry? They're friends with Dumbledore and they have connections. So do the Kellers. We should demand information, don't you think?"

"Maybe," I said wishing so much that I could tell him the truth. "But we'll have to wait to talk to them."

In fact, I was going to have to write to my parents that night. Maybe I could find out the next Hogsmeade visit and have them come see me. I knew how to hide words on paper, but it was so easy for people to reveal it. I didn't know how to do what my parents could where they could write gibberish that would appear to be the real I touched it. I couldn't very well demand information either. It was very frustrating.

I ended up writing to my parents later after dinner. By the sounds of it, Harry got into another fight with Umbridge, and I wanted their advice, especially with Brenda constantly staring at either me or Brianne. So after a quick dinner, I rushed up to the common room to write a quick letter to them. As I sat thinking about it, Hilda waved to me and winked as she walked through the common room and it came to me.

I knew mum and dad would see through all that. Of course, I was no expert on girls, but I did know enough and my parents knew that. They would know exactly what I was trying to ask, especially since I was asking them to come down for a Hogsmeade visit. If I sent the letter that night, they would figure it out with the article about Umbridge. At least, I was hoping my parents would figure it all out, and that I wouldn't get a letter full of dating advice.

I quickly headed to the Owlery and sent the letter off. When I returned to the common room, it was to find Brianne sitting with Nick and Tasha. The three were talking in low voices.

"There you are," Brianne said when I joined them. "Brenda thinks she should be able to inspect my homework and when I told her to go away she said she'd get a prefect if she had to."

"She can't get you in trouble over that," I told her. "And I was off sending a letter to mum and dad," and I quickly explained what I did in a low voice. "I'm hoping they get the hint."

"They should," Brianne said. "They know you don't really need advice, and if you did, you'd go to Chester and Ralph first. I'm sure they'll see right through it since you're asking them to come down for Hogsmeade and with that article about Umbridge coming out today."

"I hope they figure out a way for us to communicate without owls," I said. "They could always use the Protean charm on parchment or something."

"What is that?" Brianne asked.

"It's kind of a charm that mirrors what you write on another object. So if I wrote something to you on something, it would appear on whatever it is that you have if they are linked," I explained. "We kind of talked about it over the summer, but I might suggest it to them if they come down. I hate so much that we have to be careful about what we write. I mean, do Death Eaters really care what a Hogwarts student who isn't Harry has to say?"

"They likely know the Hoofer's are friendly with Dumbledore," Brianne pointed out. "They tried getting mum and dad the last time You-Know-Who was around. There was a reason they put all protective enchantments on our house after all. I'm sure if they see the last name Hoofer, they'll want to read it. And the Ministry will want to find out which students are against Umbridge. It's not just Death Eaters we have to worry about remember."

"And they do mum and dad are too," I added. "Do you think my girl advice letter will work?"

"If some Ministry person reads it they won't find it suspicious," Tasha said. "It's a typical letter a teenager would write. Unless your family has done something major, I really doubt that they've done research on your family. I think they're more concerned with the Weasley's or any family with connection to Harry."

"True enough," I said. "I've never even had a conversation with Harry. I doubt they know I talk to Ginny sometimes but it's not likely they'll be after anyone she has ever talked to anyway."

"Not yet anyway," Nick said. "I'm sure there will come a time when they'll even get students to really spy, and not just the way that Umbridge requested. It's only the beginning of the school year."

The whole thing was ridiculous and scary. I hoped that Dumbledore or Harry would defeat You-Know-Who soon and everything would go back to normal. I knew that was false hope though. This was something that could be going on for years. Chances are we'd still be dealing with this when Ben finally arrived at Hogwarts. I just hoped Brenda would change her ways by that point.

Mum and dad didn't get back to me as soon as possible like I had hoped. Tasha suggested they were likely trying to find a way to get back to me without revealing anything they shouldn't. She suggested we just focus on our school work and ignore Brenda. She was right, it was the most we could do.

Wednesday evening of that week, I bumped into Hermione in the corridors. I quickly grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her into a secret passageway I knew of.

"Barry, you're cute, but I don't randomly snog blokes," she said with a small smile.

"You're breaking my heart," I told her with a grin. "Just a second," I added quickly and I quickly headed back to the entrance of the passageway to make sure that no one was around. I didn't see anyone, and I didn't think Brenda knew about this passageway.

"What is this all about?" Hermione asked me. "I can't stay long Barry."

"You-Know-Who and other things," I finally whispered. "You're friends with Harry so I know you believe him."

"I don't know much but I can't tell you anyway," Hermione whispered back.

"Fair enough," I whispered back. "But how worried should we be? Look, my parents know about the Order. They're unofficial members but obviously they can't tell us anything and now we have that Umbridge woman here. Is there anything you can tell me to at least ease my worries?"

Hermione seemed to ignore most of what I said. She seemed to only hear one bit.

"You know about the Order?" She hissed. "Barry, you know you can't be whispering about it then. What if I hadn't known about it?"

"You're Harry Potter's best friend," I stated. "Besides, you wouldn't say anything except to Harry or Ron and obviously they know about it. Hermione, I'm not dumb."

"Still," she said. "I can't tell you anything, Barry. I am sorry. You'll have to wait for your parents to tell you. Look. I wish I could tell you but I can't. As for your other question, you don't need to be worried yet and that's all I'll say. It's very dangerous to talk about this, and not just because of You-Know-Who but Umbridge too. I know you're not dumb, so I know you're fully aware of what she is about. We're already warning Harry to be careful around her."

"Apparently he isn't heeding that," I said. "We heard that Quidditch captain and McGonagall yelling at him. I know you can't give me real information and I respect that, but if you could maybe warn me once and a while I can live with just that. I wrote home to my parents and asked them about advice about girls, and I'm sure they'll see through it. So I'm waiting on them."

"I can warn you, but you can't ask why or how," Hermione said. "It's risky talking about and I hope your parents do get back to you soon. And you can do the same for me then."

"Agreed. It's stressful with Umbridge and everything as it is, so I don't want to be blindsided," I told her.

"I get it," she replied."In the future, ask me if I can help you with Arithmancy or Ancient Runes, or any other class. And do not ever mention the Order again. If I need to tell you that you should be on your guard, I'll tell you to study more for Arithmancy. If I don't have any information for you, I'll tell you the test will be easy."

"Sounds fair," I told her. "I'll tell you I'm worried about Arithmancy, or I'll tell you that the assignment was easy."

Hermione nodded. "I should go," she whispered. "I'll see you later, Barry. Be careful, and if you can, drop Divination."

She left the passageway quickly, and though I should have been thinking more about what we'd just talked about, I began thinking about what it would have been like to snog her. I wondered too if Nick still had a crush on her. He hadn't mentioned it in a while. I knew if he did, I could never go through with snogging her. Not that she would. I knew she wasn't that kind of girl.

My parents didn't get back to me until Friday afternoon, but they didn't write back. Instead, they actually came to the school and requested a meeting in Dumbledore's office. Halfway through Ancient Runes, I was called out of class. Wondering what it could possibly be about, I headed to Dumbledore's office feeling worried. Had they found out about last Easter? Perhaps Brenda had gone and ratted me out after all. I'd never had to go see Dumbledore before. I'd never talked to him.

The password to his office was Chocolate Frogs. As I stood on the revolving staircase, I stared at a crack in the wall trying to think of ways to explain why I'd been in Hogsmeade. Was I getting expelled? What about my cousins and the other boys. Were they getting expelled too?

However, when I entered the office it was to find my parents laughing with Dumbledore. Surely if I was getting thrown out, they wouldn't be laughing. They must have come to respond to my letter.

"There is young Barry now," Dumbledore said looking good-natured. "I need to discuss a few things with the staff anyway," he added to my parents. "I'll leave you to it. Use my office as long as you need to. No one will disturb you up here and you won't be overheard," and then he grinned at me. "I've heard you are an excellent student and that you're even in line to be Prefect."

And then he walked off. I was in awe of his office. There were all sorts of odd magical items in his office. It was a huge round room and his phoenix was even there! I'd heard of it, but I'd never seen it. I stared at the whirling instruments on a small round table.

"Hello dear," mum said as I looked around the office while I approached her. She walked over to hug me.

"This was the best way we could think to answer your letter," dad told me. "I'm sorry it took so long. So what do you need to know?"

"Anything you do know. We've been wondering if the teachers are involved in Dumbledore's secret society. I didn't tell Nick and Tasha about the Order," I quickly added. "Nick guessed that Dumbledore must have some secret organization. I wanted to know if I could tell them, and what's going on with Umbridge? How can the parents and teachers allow her?"

"You can tell Nick and Tasha," dad relented. "But be careful when you tell them. As far as the rest, we don't know who are members. It's a fair assumption to guess that certain teachers are part of it but we are unofficial members. We don't know who is in the Order except some of our sources. It's safer that way."

"And there isn't anything anyone can do about Umbridge," mum continued. "Just behave around her. So far our family isn't seen as suspicious and we'd like to keep it that way as long as possible."

"But that doesn't mean I'll be her spy," and I quickly explained the conversation we'd had with Brenda.

Mum and dad frowned and then looked at each other.

"We'll talk to her," mum finally said. "If it came down to you being a spy and selling out your friends or family or expulsion, we would understand if you were expelled. I know you and Brianne would pick the first choice and we'd never be disappointed in you over that. Now, if you had a shouting match such as the one Harry Potter has had with her, we would be disappointed. We've always told you to follow your beliefs."

"But what about Brenda following hers?" I asked.

"It's wrong if it means betraying your friends or loved ones," dad said. "The only way that would be acceptable is if they were a danger to you somehow."

"But what if Brenda believes that about her own beliefs?" I asked. "You've always told us to follow our beliefs after all. Look what happened with Percy Weasley."

"We came down to talk to Brenda too, but we wanted to talk to you first," dad said. "Brianne has sent some letters home as well. We've decided it would be easier to avoid letters for now. Since we can't always come to the school to talk to you lot, we've decided to give you these charmed chalkboards," dad continued and mum reached into her purse to pull out small chalkboard which she handed to me.

"All you have to do is write on it, and it will appear on one of the ones we have. We have three, one for each of you," mum told me. "I'll give you another one to give to Brianne. I've never been the best with that Charm, so it may wear off eventually. Only show Tasha and Nick and absolutely no one else. It's best if you don't carry it on you either in case Umbridge asks you to clean out your bags. Just leave it in your trunk. We charmed all three of your trunks not to open for anyone but you or those you trust."

I was glad to have the chalkboard, but I still couldn't help but think there had to be a better way. This was good in a way because I could wipe the message off quickly, but mum and dad had to look after three different chalkboards. Tasha had told us about something new called the internet in the muggle world. Apparently it connected people all over the world together and you could chat with each other that way. I thought at times we were behind when it came to things like that, especially when it came to the Protean charm. I was sure it could link many objects together at once the way the internet could. Why did we still rely on owls?

"Are you going to see Brianne as well?" I asked. "She'll be upset if you just see Brenda and me."

"We'll see all three of you. After you leave, we'll talk to Brenda and then Brianne," dad said. "Ben wanted to come too, but we left him at home. We want Hogwarts to be a surprise and we didn't want him around when we talked to Brenda. Don't tell him about the chalkboards either. We'd rather just use them to sent important information but we are still going to send normal letters as well so no one gets suspicious. It's better if he thinks he needs to send letters for now. When he comes to school, if we have to still it this way, we'll tell him about the chalkboards."

I didn't say it, but I did find it a bit annoying that they'd promised to tell Ben everything, but they were leaving him out of this. I could see their point in a way because he would want to write us all the time on the chalkboards, and just forget the owls, but why couldn't they just tell him the boards were just for important information only?

"What did you tell him then?" I asked.

I didn't like the fact that he was home alone either.

"We told him the truth," mum said. "We told him you had some questions and we wanted to talk to you in person. Barry, you do have to watch who is around you when you talk, however. Brenda has told us in code that often you talk with your friends about things in the common room. You don't know who you can trust."

"We always whisper," I replied. "She just sneaks up behind us."

"I understand that dear, but Brenda may not be the only one who will do that. There may be plenty of kids in your house who will be spying for their parents or Umbridge or You-Know-Who."

"I know," I said. "We keep a look out for the most part. But you do have to do something about her spying on me or Brianne. I don't do that to her. She says she is looking out for us, but I don't buy that one bit. She wants to catch us doing something. You know, she even wanted to try and catch me at things last year so I'd get spanked too."

"We know," dad said. "And we talked to her about that. We've explained spanking was a last resort and that we hate having to do it to her."

"She's not learning anything from it," I told them. "Again, I hate to give you parenting advice since I'm just a kid but I don't think you should spank her anymore. It's making her worse. It doesn't work on her like it does the rest of us."

Mum just smiled at me.

"She's too old for it now, Barry, and we mean it this time," she told me. "We had a talk with her about that before we sent you lot back to school. She knows how she'll be punished now."

I didn't ask what it was. If they wanted to tell me what it was, they would. I loved my parents, but at times I felt that spanking her was part of her attitude the last few years. There was something else as well, but the spanking didn't help. If it was the rest of us, it would work. I would be fifteen in a few months time and if I had the threat of spanking over my head, I wouldn't do whatever it was. That was more because of how humiliating it would be than the pain. With Brenda, it was the pain and humiliation. If I ever had kids, if I decided to spank them, they wouldn't still be getting it at thirteen. I figured Ben's age would be the best time to stop.

"Anyway," dad continued, "have we answered all your questions for now?"

"Yes, for now," I said. "I mean, you haven't heard anything new when it comes to him have you?"

"No," dad answered. "They're still just working underground. We won't get information right away either. As we told you, we're unofficial members. We aren't in the know for everything. They tell us what they feel we should know."

I just nodded. I was satisfied enough. I had a feeling if they were real members, they wouldn't tell me everything anyway. So I just gave them a hug good-bye and then went off to find Tasha and Nick so I could finally tell them the truth. I figured we'd go talk on the grounds though. It was the safest way to know that we wouldn't be overheard. Mum and dad had a point. Just anyone could sneak up and listen in on us. How many times had that happened in the past few years?

Nick and Tasha were understandably upset at first when I finally told them the truth about the order, but they got over it quickly. They knew I wouldn't keep something that important from them unless I had a good reason. We decided from then on that if we needed to talk about something important, we would either go outside or just keep a better look out in the common room. We figured we could even go into the boys dorms to talk.

In the meantime, the first Hogsmeade visit was coming up. Nick and I were trying to find dates, but it proved to be harder that year. People were so divided about You-Know-Who being back, and by that point, most people knew what side everyone was on. It was harder to find a girl who was on our side, or one we could actually trust. Tasha seemed really put out about this whenever I talked about this with her, and I didn't understand why. She no longer we were too young, and she'd had a boyfriend. When I asked Nick he just gave a shrug, but I thought he might have been lying.

"You know," I said with irritation. "I kept my secret because my parents needed me too. It's obvious you're keeping a secret from me. If something is bothering Tasha, I need to know."

"I promised I wouldn't say anything," Nick told me. "It's up to her to tell you. I understand now why you kept your secret. You should give me the same understanding."

"So then why is she keeping secrets from me then?" I asked.

"Maybe she feels it's best," Nick replied. "She'll tell you when she feels ready to. Don't pester her either Barry."

"I don't get why she can't trust me," I muttered.

"It's not about trust," Nick told me. "I'm about to give up on finding a girl. I've never seen this school so divided, not even when we were first years. Or even last year for that matter."

"I know, it's scary," I said. "How do you know to trust and who not? Either you're talking to a kid of a Death Eater, or a kid whose parent is loyal to the Ministry. You know Cho Chang? Well, her uptight friend, Marietta has a mum in the Ministry and apparently she reports back to her about what goes on here. Chester told me."

"Maybe the three of us should just go together," Nick said. "Just until we know who we can trust. It's hard to believe that there are so many people that we can't trust here. We've been going to the same school as each other for years."

It seemed the best idea, and as the Hogsmeade trip approached, none of us had found dates. Tasha didn't seem all that fussed about it. We discussed it one evening while we working on a Transfiguration essay.

"You don't always need girlfriends you know," she told us. "And the three of us can have fun in Hogsmeade together. I promised Brianne I'd find some good makeup for her anyway. You can help, Barry."

"Just because I have two sisters, and a girl as one of my best friends, it doesn't mean I know about makeup," I told her. "I'm still not ready for her to wear makeup anyway. I won't tell her not to. I don't want to be

big brother but-"

"Don't worry," Tasha interrupted in a soft voice. "I'm teaching her properly. She won't look like Gretchen did when she first started wearing makeup and besides, your mum taught her well too. For her age, she understands better than most do."

"Gretchen still wears too much makeup," Nick said. "I'm so glad Darren dumped her."

"Speaking of which, how do you feel about Darren and Brenda going to Hogsmeade?" Tasha asked me.

"Wait, what?" I asked feeling my temper rise. "He can't take her-"

"Mate, you approved of it," Nick interrupted. "Remember? You can't prevent her from dating, and you just said that you don't want to be that big brother. Your sister is going to date, and you know that Darren is a good guy. Don't interfere because both will be pissed at you."

"He's right," Tasha said and she put an arm on my shoulder.

For some reason, when she did this, I felt butterflies in my stomach. Normally this only happened when a really pretty girl acknowledged me. Not that Tasha wasn't attractive, because she definitely was. In fact, sometime over the last couple of years, she'd lost the cute little girl look and she now looked beautiful. I remembered how gorgeous she'd looked at the Yule Ball the year before. Why wasn't it that I hadn't noticed it before? I stared at her, forgetting momentarily forgetting what we'd been talking about. All I could think of was how gorgeous her eyes looked at the moment.

"You okay?" She asked.

"What?" I asked.

"You seem distracted," Nick said and he had a smirk on his face.

"I'm fine, I said trying to clear my head of the thoughts I was having. Thoughts I'd never had when it came to Tasha, and I didn't understand where they had from or why I was having them. Maybe it was because I hadn't had a girlfriend in so long. "You're right. I don't want to be that brother, but I am going to keep an eye on them in Hogsmeade."

"Fine, but you can't follow them around," Tasha said. "We'll distract you, don't worry."

A few days before the Hogsmeade trip, Hermione Granger approached me as I was leaving the Great Hall. I suddenly felt worried. Did she have information I should know about?

"I just wanted to discuss that Arithmancy assignment you were asking about," she told me.

She led me over to a corner in the Entrance Hall. I felt worried. Had someone died? She looked quite serious.

"What happened?" I whispered as soon as we were away from everyone.

"Nothing, don't worry," she said. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you wanted to meet up with in Hogsmeade in the Hogs Head."

"For what?" I asked.

"Well, you know how useless Umbridge is as a teacher," Hermione whispered. "And we've been thinking of starting a homework group with Harry as our teacher. I don't think we'll be overheard in the Hog's Head."

"Overheard? If it's a homework group, why the secrecy. Just what exactly are you planning Hermione?" I asked with amusement.

"Come to the meeting and-" She began but I shook my head.

"No, I need more information than that," I said. "Look, I won't tell anyone, not even Tasha and Nick if you want, but I need more information because it doesn't sound like a homework group to me if it's a secret."

Hermione looked around to see if anyone was listening, but no one seemed to be paying attention to us. Most people were either talking in groups or else they were going outside or to their common rooms. No one found it a bit odd that we were talking together.

"I'd be happy if you brought Nick and Tasha along," she said. "We want to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts properly instead of the way Umbridge is teaching us. You've told me you found her useless too. It's why I thought if you as well."

I considered it. It would be nice to learn it properly. Tasha, Nick, Brianne and me were looking up spells on our as it was, but I also wanted to keep an eye on Brenda and Darren. If we went to this meeting, I might miss something.

"Look, maybe we could go to another meeting, but I can't this time," I finally said. "My little sister is going on her first date, and I need to keep an eye on her. We won't tell anyone, because by the sounds of it, you want it to be a secret. It's obviously not just a homework group."

"I told you more than I told most people," Hermione said with a nod. "The rest just think we are meeting in the Hogs Head. so I am trusting you Barry."

"I won't, you have my word," I said and I held up a pinky for her to hook hers into. "Pinky swear. I'm not a rat."

"A pinky promise?" She asked in amusement. "Really Barry? We're not ten."

I kept my finger out however, and she rolled her eyes and then hooked hers into mine. Her eyes widened in surprise as the warmth spread through our fingers. Perhaps she didn't know about pinky promises after all.

"It works?" She whispered. "In the muggle world, kids do it but nothing happens. What happens if we break the promise then? I've never read or heard about this before."

"It makes both parties feel bad. I'm not sure how it works, but if I break the promise, we'll both feel bad. Although I do want to tell Tasha and Nick and I'll do the same with them but I do trust them. You'll know anyway. If any one of us says something outside of our group, you'll feel intense dread and sadness. I've made them with Brenda in the past, and anytime she has broken a promise, I've felt it. She didn't even tell me. So me breaking this promise will make us both feel horrible, and I'm not willing to put either of us through that."

"That is amazing," Hermione said.

"Well, I am glad to be able to teach you something," I told her. "Do you think I could tell Brianne too? I won't tell Brenda of course, but I'd like to tell Brianne."

Hermione sighed. "Barry, I don't want too many people knowing. Just how many people do you want to tell?"

"There is a chance I'd eventually want to tell Ben," I finally said. "But that's it. And they all know the seriousness of a pinky promise. It will link all of us together. I might not tell Brianne or Ben, but I want your permission I can just in case it comes up, but that would be it. If I don't have your permission, it's okay and I won't tell them."

"Just Ben and Brianne," she said and then she let my pinky go. "If I find out it's anyone else, I won't give you anymore information or homework help."

"You can trust me," I told her. "You'll know if I do instantly. You'll feel horrible the moment I do it. I'm not sure of the magic behind it because the spell works the moment pinky's are linked. I'm surprised Ron never told you about it. I'm sure the Weasley's know about it."

"We've never had to do that with each other," Hermione replied. "We've trusted each other since we became friends in first year. Thank you Barry. If you change your mind, we'll be at the Hogs Head around nine."

"Bit early to be drinking isn't it?" I joked and she just glared.

"I'll see you around Barry," she said with a small smile and then walked off.


	28. Fourth Year Part Four

I had to admit, I was curious about this group she was planning, but I wanted to keep an eye on my sister. I figured I would talk to Nick and Tasha and see what their opinion on the matter was. I took them up to the boys dorms to talk just so we couldn't be overheard. None of the boys were around, so I sat on my bed and told them everything.

"It sounds like a rebellion group to me," Tasha said with a frown. "I don't know… maybe we should wait."

"But they're doing the same we are," Nick said. "Maybe Harry could teach us and Brianne something. Brianne is going to be so far behind next year."

"True," Tasha said with a sigh. "I don't know. There is so much at stake by the sounds of it. If this pinky promise thing is as serious as you make it sound, it just sounds as if their trying be rebellious and Umbridge already has spies. There is a reason we are sitting here discussing this after all. Maybe we should just wait and see how this plays out. She said you can join at any time, right?"

"Yes," I said.

"Then maybe we shouldn't go just yet. It's one thing for us to be practising spells in this dorm, but it's another to have meetings all over the school in secret. There is a reason she picked the Hogs Head. She doesn't want to be overheard. You both have parents who work at the Ministry. This could cost them their jobs. Both your parents are trying to keep a low profile after all. What if we are caught in the Hogs Head and it turns out we shouldn't be doing this?"

"Always the voice of reason," I said.

"So it's back to spying on Brenda and Darren?" Nick asked.

"Yes," I said. "We need to pinky swear. I promised her we would. No one but you two and maybe Brianne and Ben can know. We'll all be linked to each other after this. She'll know if one of you says something. All of us linked together will know."

"That's amazing. I wonder how that works," Tasha said but she linked her pinky into mine, and then into Nicks, and then the two of them linked pinky's. I felt the warmth go through me when they did it.

I'd never been part of pinky promise chain, so I wondered if Hermione knew at the moment as well. I figured she must have known. Usually, I just had it between two people. I figured I'd look up the spell eventually to see how it worked. You didn't need an incantation after all. You just linked pinkies.

"You know," Nick began. "I'm surprised she trusted you with so much information. Didn't you say she gave everyone else just some vague information. Why does she trust you so much?"

"I told you about our encounter when I mentioned the you-know-what to her," I said. "I think that is the only reason. Besides, she wasn't willing to at first until I did pinky promise her. She was hesitant, and she was even more hesitant when I mentioned Brianne and Ben. I don't know if I even plan to tell them, but I wanted to know that I could, just in case."

"It's just that the more people who know the secret, the more that can tell people, and she knows that," Nick said. "Even with the pinky promise. It's not just us, but all those people she is apparently meeting with in the Hog's Head. Is she planning to pinky promise them all? It just seems odd."

"I suppose now that she knows about it she can do it," Tasha said with a shrug. "She is smart though. She won't be going into this without having a plan. It's why she hesitated to tell you anything. I think she'll do something to make sure no one tells, and it might even be a pinky promise."

The three of us made our way to Hogsmeade early that Saturday morning. My mind was on both the meeting and Brenda's first date. By the sounds of it, Darren was taking her to The Three Broomsticks for breakfast, so I wanted to be there. Nick and Tasha both found this really amusing. They both teased me all the way there.

"Maybe we should just go to the Hog's Head," Nick said. "You're just going to make yourself crazy."

"You just want to go because you have a crush on Hermione," Tasha said.

"Keep quiet about all that," I hissed. "Just in case. We've given her our word, and we'll be breaking it if people overhear."

"Maybe it's Barry who has the crush," Nick said and Tasha glared at him for some reason.

I was distracted however. I saw Darren and Brenda just ahead. I pointed this out to them. I saw them glance at each other and roll their eyes, but they followed me nevertheless. I didn't want to be too obvious, and the pub wasn't too crowded yet, so I picked a table in the corner far from them.

"Too bad we didn't have any of those extendibles that the Weasley twins are selling," Tasha said once we'd had our order taken. "We could hear what is going on."

"What are extendibles?" I asked curiously.

I'd heard the Weasley twins were selling joke items around the school, but I hadn't given it much thought until that moment. As far as I knew, they were only selling something called Skiving Snackboxes or maybe it was that they were testing them, either way, I hadn't had any interest in skipping class, even Umbridges, so I hadn't paid any attention to it.

"They're amazing and it's why we have to be careful about what we're talking about," Nick said. "Anyway, they're these strings you hold up to your ears, and you can hear the person as if they are right beside you."

"Really?" I asked. Those would come in handy after all. "And neither of bought any because…?"

"Well, I did but I didn't think we would need any-" and he stopped at my glare and then rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, I didn't think it was a good idea, Barry. How would you feel if Brenda was spying on you with one of those? You're a hypocrite Barry, and we shouldn't even be here. In all honesty, I think we should have gone to the you-know-what instead of coming here."

"Well, I don't," Tasha said. "Not until we know for sure that it's a good idea."

"And this is a good idea?" Nick asked her. "What about if we did this to you? I say after breakfast, we go to the meeting. I'm not following Brenda around all day. It's wrong."

I knew he was right. I would be so angry with Brenda for doing this. In fact, she had followed me and I had yelled at her for it. So I nodded in agreement. After breakfast, we would go to the meeting. I glanced over at Darren and Brenda. She was smiling at him. The two were staring at each other and talking. Whatever they were talking about seemed to light her face right up and I felt guilty. She deserved to be happy and by interfering, I could screw up a good thing for her.

I still couldn't help but cast glances at her while we ate. Once we were done, Nick quickly went and paid, and then we headed out to the Hog's Head.

"Do you think they are still there?" Tasha asked.

"Might be. It's supposed to be a homework group after all," I said. "They're likely talking about what they're going to be doing and scheduling it and all."

So we headed down the street to the Hog's Head, but when we entered the old pub, it was to find it basically empty. There were some weird looking adults but no kids were around. I checked my watch to see that it was ten-thirty. We'd wasted time spying on Brenda instead of going to the meeting.

"But Hermione did say you're always welcome," Tasha reminded. "And I still think it's better we didn't go. Even if it's the Hog's Head. It's still public and anyone could have overheard."

"In there?" Nick asked. "Did you see the freaks in there? They were probably all drunks. They won't care what a bunch of kids have to say. Let's go to Honey Dukes. And I want to start some of my Christmas shopping. I doubt my parents will let me go to Diagon Alley. To be honest, I am surprised they didn't cancel Hogsmeade trips."

I felt the same but I hadn't said it. Given how protective they were, it made me wonder how long he would still be at Hogwarts once You-Know-Who came out in the open. He wouldn't stay hidden forever after all. I glanced at Tasha who looked at me. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing that I was.

"I have to find the makeup for Brianne too," she finally said. "We'll talk to Ginny later. She obviously went."

Monday morning, I was relieved we'd decided against going to the meeting. A huge sign had appeared on our notice board. It was another one of Umbridge's Education Decrees. This one was banning all clubs, teams, societies or groups.

"I told you," Tasha hissed as we left the common room.

"Do you want a reward?" Nick snapped at her.

"Watch it!" I said angrily to him.

"Well, we know she told us," Nick retorted. "We don't need to be reminded of it. No need to act superior about it."

And he began walking faster without a backward glance.

"What was that about?" Tasha asked. "He never reacts like that with us. Maybe I shouldn't have said I was right. I wasn't trying to be superior about it though. I've just had a bad feeling ever since you told us."

"I know," I said. "Something else must be bothering him. He was kind of quiet yesterday. Lets not worry about it for now. And we shouldn't talk about it right now, but I do wonder if the others are worried. Do you think someone told?"

"I don't know," Tasha said worriedly. "Either someone opened their big mouth or else they were overheard. All those weirdo's were covered up weren't they? What if Umbridge put a spy in there."

"It's not unusual for people to dress like in the Hog's Head. Chester and Ralph told me," I replied.

"Then that makes it more likely," Tasha said. "No one would second guess it."

"Maybe you're right. I'll talk to Hermione later. I just hope she knows it wasn't us who said it."

When we entered the Great Hall, it was to find that a lot of people were talking about the notices. I noticed people were going over to the Gryffindor table, and I wondered if some of those people had been part of the meeting. It was rather stupid of them to be doing that in the Great Hall.

"Maybe it isn't even about it anyway," Tasha muttered in a quiet voice.

"Don't be naive," I whispered back. "They have a meeting on Saturday and suddenly that notice appears? Someone is either a rat, or they were overheard."

I didn't get the chance to talk to Hermione until the next weekend however. Most of the week, people were upset about having to get their clubs or teams reformed and I did wonder what that meant for the Quidditch teams as well. In Divination, Professor Trelawney was distracted, and after Luna questioned her more about it, we found out that she'd been put on probation by Umbridge.

Mum and dad wrote to find out if I'd been part of the group in Hogsmeade, and they made me swear to say away from the group if I had been. I was glad they couldn't see my face because it was hard lying to them, but I had to. Of course I hadn't been part of the group but I had to pretend that I didn't even have knowledge about it. After all, Hermione had only given me permission to tell my friends, Brianne, and Ben and no one else.

I was relieved to find her alone but quite distracted. No one was around, so we didn't have to hide.

"I don't have much time," she told me when I approached her.

"That's okay," I told her. "I just want to know what happened. Did someone rat? It wasn't us, I promise."

"I know it wasn't you," she said. "We think someone must have overheard us in the Hog's Head. It was no one in that group."

"But how can you be so sure?" I asked. "Did you pinky swear them all?"

And she shook her head.

"So how do you know?" I asked. "Any one of them could be lying. It wasn't us though. You would know instantly if it were one of us."

"I know that," she said. "I looked up the pinky promise after we did that to learn more about it. I would have known even without that feeling of dread. It seems the pinky promise links us in more than one way."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What did you do?"

She didn't respond and I shook my head.

"Hermione, I have the right to know. What did you do? You did something else to keep everyone quiet," I said.

"I had everyone who attended that meeting sign a jinxed piece of parchment," she finally said. "I signed it too, and as we are linked, I was signing for you lot as well as for me. You are bound to secrecy in more than one way."

"But won't all of us end up being jinxed then?" I asked.

I hadn't known that the pinky promise linked people that way as well. It was quite amazing however, and I couldn't help but admire her. I'd heard many times that she was the brightest witch of her age. I believed it. I did well in school, but she was definitely a lot smarter than me.

"No, there is a way around that," she told me.

"You could have told me you were going to do that," I said. "It's amazing, and we would never tell but I have the right to know. I could have told my little sister or brother. What was the jinx?"

"I had to take my chances," she replied. "Let's just say that if someone from the group tells, they'll regret it. You'll have more than one pimple on your face."

"I have a pimple?" I asked and then I thought about what she said. "You're quite the savage Hermione. Remind me never to get on your wrong side. In the future, please tell me more when it comes to things like that. Ben is nine and it's possible he could let something slip. I haven't told him but you know how kids are like. I wouldn't have brought Ben into the promise if I'd known."

She smiled. "You're right," she told me. "I should have told you. I haven't told anyone but Harry and Ron and I don't plan to. Look, we're still doing it," she added in a lower voice. "And if you ever want to go to a meeting-"

"I can't," I said. "Mum and dad told all three of us if that we knew about it that we aren't to ever go back. If it weren't for Brenda, I might but she'd rat me out. She spies on me, and she has been watching me all week as if to see if I am about to slip off."

"Just let me know if you ever change your mind though," she said. "You're an unofficial member but you are always welcome to come. I've been trying to think of a way to let members know without us crossing the Great Hall all the time. It will become suspicious if we keep doing it that way."

"You could always try the Protean Charm," I suggested and quickly explained it to her. "But I don't think we learn that until the sixth or seventh year."

Hermione looked deep in thought for a moment. "And would that work on skin as well?" She finally asked.

"Well, I suppose it could but you're not actually thinking of-" I began but she shook her head.

"No of course not," she answered. "I just heard of- well, nevermind. It will work on anything then?"

"Yes, it should," I said. "I think it burns hot or something. Mum and dad gave us these chalkboards, and sometimes they are warm when we find them. I remember mum saying it burns hot though. It's why you don't want to put it on your members skin."

"Believe me, I wasn't thinking of that," she replied. "I read about it once but I didn't give it much thought until you mentioned it. I just wanted to know if it was the same. I'll have to go to the library to find out more about it."

"I think it's complicated Hermione," I told her.

"Well, if I figure it out, I'll let you know," she told me. "Then you, Tasha, and Nick can know when a meeting is too. I don't think it's a good idea for your little sister to come though. She's too young."

I disagreed with that but I didn't tell her this. The first years should know how to defend themselves as well as we should. I just nodded and she thanked me before taking off. I wondered if she was off to the library. She'd said she didn't have time to talk to me, but after I told her about the Protean Charm, she seemed to have forgotten about it.

Smiling, I headed to the common room. It did make me a bit uneasy realizing how smart she was. It was also scary how far she would go to keep a secret. I understood why. If Umbridge found out they were still doing that, they'd be expelled but she'd done that beforethe decree had gone up. It was as if she was covering all bases just in case. Perhaps for the time being, I wouldn't tell Ben anything. The last thing I wanted was for him to be covered in pimples. As I thought about the pimples, I wondered where my pimple was. She'd said I had a pimple after all.


	29. Fourth Year Part Five

It seemed my sister had her first boyfriend. After that date in Hogsmeade, I hadn't seen the two of them together afterwards, so I'd stopped thinking about them. However, one evening when I entered the dorms it was to hear Darren and Philip talking about it.

"Wait, so you two are together?" I asked as I opened my trunk to see if mum and dad had written to me at all. I was careful to make sure the boys didn't see the chalkboard. Seeing nothing, I closed my trunk again.

"Yes," Darren answered. "We were going to tell you, but we were waiting to make sure it actually worked out. You were stressed about our Hogsmeade trip, so we didn't want to stress you out more. I just hope you won't keep hovering. I don't think Brenda saw, but I did see you, Nick, and Tasha at The Three Broomsticks."

"I had to," I answered. "Just take care of her. I'm not going to follow you around. I hated it when she did it to me, but remember she is only thirteen and she has no experience."

"I know mate," Darren replied. "I shouldn't have even been with Gretchen but it happened. I promise I will never pressure your sister. She seems different too. She doesn't seem like the same girl. Maybe she really does just need confidence. She almost seemed like Brianne."

"She can be. She used to be," I replied thinking about when we'd been kids. "Just take care of her, and don't break her heart."

"I can't promise you the latter mate," Darren said. "I won't ever do it purposely, but if it doesn't work out and we break up, it's a possibility. You of all people know that."

"You know what I mean," I said to him as I rolled my eyes.

"I won't do it on purpose," he responded. "That's all I can promise. Right now, we are getting along. Just promise me that you won't hover anymore."

"I won't hover anymore," I promised.

I knew I shouldn't, so I meant it. I had to give both Brenda and Brianne space as much as I hated it. I was sure Brenda could take of herself anyway. She could stand up for herself when she had to. It was Brianne I worried about more. She was already talking about cute boys, so she obviously noticed them already. She wasn't good at standing up for herself.

I gave the boys a nod and then headed back down to the common room to join Nick and Tasha. I told them what had happened up in the dorms.

"Mate, you really need to relax," Nick said moodily. "You're constantly bitching about her watching you, so why don't you just cut it out as well?"

"What is with you lately?" I asked him for Nick had been bad tempered since the morning the decree had gone up.

"Can't handle the truth?" He snapped back.

"Nick!" Tasha said.

"It's not about that at all mate," I said. "You're right, but the last few weeks you've been so snappish lately. What is going on? What is wrong? It's not like you to be like this."

"Exactly," Tasha said. "All the years I've known you, you've been good-natured but lately you just seem angry. If we've done something, we need to know. Is it because we didn't go to that meeting?"

"Because Hermione said we can go," I whispered. "We don't want to hold you back mate."

"It's not about that. It would be a bad idea for me to get caught at something like that, and it's stupid for that lot to continue it. I can't even begin to understand why she is trusting an outsider so much with that information," Nick answered.

"Are you angry because her and me talk?" I asked thinking about his crush.

"This isn't about Hermione or the two of you," Nick replied and then he sighed. "Remember last year when I told you that mum and dad are thinking of having another baby? They're pregnant. I found out the morning that decree came out. I'm just… well, stressed about it. They're having a baby at the worst possible time. Anything can happen."

In a way, I could see his point. If I found out that mum and dad were having another baby, I'd be really upset as well. I worried that they were starting to let Ben be home on his own during these times. I knew most of the time he was at an aunt's or uncles but they didn't mind leaving him alone for a couple of hours. I knew that eventually the Death Eaters might try to get my parents to join again, if they hadn't already. It was irresponsible of them to do so.

"How far along are they?" Tasha asked.

"Mum is nearly six months," Nick answered. "And what gets me is they knew in the summer, but they didn't tell me because they wanted to be sure. How sure do you need to be? If you're pregnant than your pregnant."

"Well, yes, and don't get angry with me Nick, but I can understand why they kept it secret. The first three months are the most critical and there is a good chance a woman can miscarry during the first trimester. It's actually quite common for women to keep it secret from everyone at first. They usually don't tell anyone until after the first doctors appointment, and given your mum's age they might have been a bit more nervous about telling you. I know you're upset, but you'd be more upset to learn about her losing your brother or sister than to find out about them. Your parents were doing it to protect themselves and you."

"I guess," Nick said. "I've been kind of excited about it since I told you two last year, but I was dreading it too. And then with the final task last year, I really hoped it wouldn't happen. I don't want to live through a war, so I don't want my baby brother or sister to go through it either. And what if mum has to fight?"

"Your mum will not fight while she is pregnant," I told him. "Your dad wouldn't let her fight."

"But what if it comes to the point that she has to?" Nick asked.

"Your dad will make her leave. Look, I still don't know what is going on because my parents are still just giving me a little bit of information but I don't think anything major will happen in the next few months. If it does, my parents and your dad will make sure she is protected. Your mum is smart, and she will not risk the life of her unborn child. She didn't when she was pregnant with you, and neither did mine," I assured him. "You should talk to them. Maybe ask Flitwick if it's possible to arrange a meeting with them if you can't wait until December. The baby will be born early next year. I just don't think you have too much to worry about."

Nick shrugged.

"Maybe. I'm sorry I've been short with you two. It's just with worrying about everything that is happening at school, the war, and at school. I just felt like your Brenda problem was dumb, but I get why you're worried too," Nick told me.

"It's okay, but remember next time you can tell us things," I told him.

"Exactly," Tasha said. "Who else are you going to talk to? We've always been there for each other. We've promised we always would be and this is the worst time not to trust each other."

"It's not about that at all," Nick said quickly. "I trust you two more than I trust my own parents, and that's saying something. I just didn't want to talk about it, but that being said, I shouldn't have snapped at you two."

"Well, if you do it in the future, we'll just have to use you as target practice with the hexes and jinxes we've been learning," Tasha told him with a smile.

Hermione ended up not only figuring out how the Protean charm worked, but she ended up using it on a whole bunch of fake galleons. I was in awe of how realistic they looked when she gave them to us. I could easily mistake it for a real one. How was she so good in Transfiguration? I could do switching spells, but they were never realistic looking. You could always see some detail of whatever it was before.

She gave them to us one evening in the library. She'd asked us to meet her in a back corner, where she'd said she would 'tutor' us on Arithmancy.

"These are brilliant," Nick whispered to her. "You're brilliant. Where do we go if we decide to go?"

"That information is in the piece of parchment I gave you. Destroy it when you've figured it out," she replied. "I really do hope the three of you come. You could learn loads, and it does help."

"I still can't believe you're trusting us," Nick told her. "I know we're linked and all but-"

"But you can't distrust everyone," Hermione interrupted. "And I've asked around about the Hoofer family," she continue as she looked at me. "I had to be sure, and from what I've heard, your family is close to Dumbledore as well, and so is your family," she said looking at Nick. "Hagrid told me last year that he is friends with your parents. And Tasha is muggleborn"

"When did you ask about my family?" I asked her wondering if it was after the pinky swear or before.

"Shortly after our talk when you mentioned the-" and she lowered her voice, "you-know-what. I had to know. A girl in my year told me you're the rich version of the Weasley's," she added as she rolled her eyes.

I felt annoyance when she said that, but not at her. I'd heard people say that before and I hated it. Not only because our families weren't the only big families in the UK or at Hogwarts, but because somehow it made us seem almost better than the Weasley's or something. We weren't. I'd never really met them outside of Ginny, but my other family members had and other than Percy they were a great and old family. Having money had nothing to do with it, otherwise the Blacks or the Malfoys would be better, and they weren't except a select few.

"We're not," I said. "Most of them are cousins but there are bigger families than our families. No one ever talks about the Barker's and they probably have more people in their family than the Weasley's and Hoofer's combined. They're also a very ancient family probably dating back further than the Malfoys and yet, absolutely no one talks about them."

"But that's because most of them were homeschooled until the last few decades, and even then they keep to themselves," Nick said with amusement.

"But there is still at least one in every year," I said. "Maybe not in the last few, but all my cousins had at least one. There are also the Tompkin's and the-"

"But they aren't prominent families are they?" Hermione interrupted. "There is a reason why certain families, like your's or Ron's, or even the Potters and the Malfoy's are more known than others. I don't think it has to do with the size but more to with what the family has done. And I'd actually hadn't heard of the Hoofer's until Ginny told me about you."

"Our family isn't as well known, but it seems when people do find out about us, they compare us to the Weasley's, but I'd say the Tompkin's or the Barker's are closer," I said. "I don't even know how we're related to a lot of the pureblood families, but you can trace most other families. We don't have a family tree though. I think most other families keep track of that somehow. We never have. Hoofer is a relatively new last name I believe. I think I remember one of my uncles saying that. Our ancestors were called something else. I think it's why people try and say we're trying to be like a new but rich version of the Weasley's."

Hermione just shrugged. "I'm just learning about all that, but I do know you three are trustworthy. Ginny once said you three are the Ravenclaw version of our trio. I disagree of course."

"We aren't troublemakers," Tasha said with a smile. "And should we really be talking about this in here?"

"We're fine," Hermione said. "I chose this table for a reason. You're right, however. We shouldn't anymore. Just remember to check those coins once a while. You're more than welcome to come. I should go."

Once she was gone, we examined the coins more closely. My mind was still on the conversation we'd just had. I wondered whether or not we were being watched by others as much as they were. People did compare us to the Weasley's and apparently Ginny thought we were the Ravenclaw golden trio. Perhaps we'd made the right decision not to go to those meetings. Brenda was likely not the only person watching us.

At times I thought some people wanted to see our family go down. We weren't as powerful as some as the other big and old families, but we were rich, and we were often Ravenclaws. Ravenclaws were known as really smart and we were close to Dumbledore as Hermione had said. We were unofficial members of the Order, and most of us worked in the Ministry. That was enough for people to be suspicious of us, and people were often jealous of the rich. I'd experienced that already in the last three and a half years. I think a lot of people wanted to see us poor and put in our place.

"She really is quite clever," Nick sighed. "And I finally got to have an actual conversation with her."

"You know she'll never look at you, right?" I asked. "Everyone thinks her and Ron Weasley will end up together. And there were those rumours last year about her and Potter."

"I can daydream though," Nick said happily. "She's my kind of girl."

"You need to meet someone else," I told him.

"So do you," he retorted but he was smiling.

He was certainly right about that. I missed the snogging and the intimacy. I'd gone further with Glenda than I had with any other girl, and I wanted more of that. At times, I wanted what Darren had with Gretchen. My cousins had said I should wait until I was sixteen, but I was going to be fifteen soon, and often it was always on my mind. I had awkward moments when I woke up in the mornings. It could be frustrating at times. I was even noticing Tasha more and more and having thoughts I probably shouldn't have had with her.

"You're right about that," I finally said.

"You know," Nick began, "you don't have to talk to a girl to snog her. Just saying."

"You two are idiots," Tasha said. "I'm off to talk to Brianne."

Once she was gone, I smiled at Nick. For some reason, I didn't want to talk about it with her around. It wasn't that I wanted to keep it secret, it just felt uncomfortable. I wasn't sure why, except maybe it was because she was the only girl in our group. It was the only explanation I could think of. Girls usually didn't understand it the way guys did, especially girls like Tasha.

"Maybe you're right," I said to him. "Maybe it will help you with your mood."

Nick started to laugh. "What are you saying Hoofer? That I need a good shag? Is that what you are going to try to do?"

"I dunno," I said. "I promised my cousins I would wait until I was sixteen or seventeen but I'm not even fifteen yet. And yet, it's always on my mind. Sometimes even reading our boring textbooks makes me think about it. When I talked to Hermione in that corridor, I wanted to grab her and snog her. I know that would have made her slap me. You know, I even get those thoughts with Tasha too?"

"Well that one doesn't surprise me," Nick said. "I've always wondered when you were going to realize it about Tasha."

"I don't have feelings for her," I said. "It's only because she is a girl."

"Keep telling yourself that, Barry," Nick said and began to laugh. "You fell in love with her that day on the Hogwarts Express."

"I was eleven," I said. "No one falls in love at eleven. If someone likes someone at that age, it's called lust. I didn't even feel lust for her. My parents told me that people don't even fall in love at sixteen or seventeen and that it's rare."

"Your parents did," Nick said.

"But it's rare," I said. "They're the rare ones, but most people don't meet the one they want to marry until they're older. And no one does at eleven."

Nick just shrugged. "I just think someday you two will end up together. And I am not the only one. Even your sisters and Ben think so. Anyone can see from the way you look at her. If even your nine-year-old brother sees this, it's telling you something."

"Look, I just think it's hormones. My parents and my cousins have all told me that our age, we are definitely very hormonal. So if I have noticed her, it's because she is a beautiful girl. Just like I notice all beautiful girls. I've even noticed Luna," I said.

"Well, I have too but I still think there is more to it with Tasha," Nick said. "So do you actually have anyone in mind?"

"I never said I was going to shag. I've thought about it, but so has everyone in our year or older," I said.

"But even for snogging, are you thinking of anyone?" He asked. "I haven't. I just know I want to."

"I see a girl, and I want it," I admitted. "But no, I haven't thought that far. I just get frustrating fantasies. This is the first time I've really openly admitted that I want to shag but maybe I am too young. My cousins all say it. They all say I shouldn't do it casually and I should find someone I love. But i didn't love Glenda, and I wanted it with her. So what difference does it make if it's a girlfriend or if it's casual if I don't love the person?"

"I think the adult answer would be that we don't have self-respect," Nick replied. "And they'd probably say we shouldn't 'cause of the war and all, but what if that's a way to help with stress. Isn't that better than alcohol?"

"That's probably exactly what they would say," I said. "But I don't know what to think when it comes to that. Why does having a girlfriend mean it's more self-respect if you don't love her?"

"Guess that's why they say to wait until marriage," Nick answered. "But I don't agree with it. I can't stop thinking about it to the point I dream about it."

"Me too," I agreed.

It was the first time we'd really talked about it that openly. How did some people do it? We saw all these beautiful girls around us everyday. Some were getting prettier the older we got, and we were all hormonal, so we wanted more. How did these people cope with it? Sometimes I couldn't even concentrate on schoolwork because of it. I was sure that the sixth and seventh years who hadn't shagged yet must have felt it worse, so how did they concentrate? How did you turn that part of your mind off? How did you hide some of the embarrassments one would get at our age?

After a while, I went to Chester for some advice about it. How did someone even find a girl who wanted it casually? Especially these days? It wasn't as if girls were advertising it. I also didn't want to mention it because both he and Ralph had lectured me about it in the past. It was during the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch match that I finally met him in the corridor while he was doing patrols.

"Why don't you patrol with me while we talk?" He asked. It can be a prefect in training and everyone is outside anyway. We won't be overheard."

"I'm surprised they don't have you patrolling the game then," I said.

"That's where all the fifth year prefects are," Chester answered. "Except the ones in the game that is. I still don't understand how that Malfoy brat got prefect. Ralph said they argued against it. It should have been Zabini. That kid is not too much better, but out of the fifth year Slytherin boys, he is the best. I think Snape and Lucius Malfoy are friends though. Anyway, the prefects are watching the game. We're just patrolling to make sure no one is taking advantage of the game."

"To do what?" I asked with amusement. "Put graffiti in the corridors."

"Or do what you're thinking of and snog or shag around the castle," Chester said laughing. "What was with that girls hat? The blond one in your year. It was kind of cool and all but I've never seen anything quite like it."

"Who Luna?" I asked. "That's just Luna being Luna. She can be a bit odd but she is nice. I think she must be friends with some of the Gryffindor's or something, so she is supporting them. But is anyone really supporting Slytherin today?"

"I'm surprised you're not watching the game. I hear it might be brutal," Chester said.

"Aren't all the Gryffindor and Slytherin matches brutal? Besides, I knew no one could overhear us and I know you hate Quidditch," I answered. "I figured this was the best time to talk to you."

"It's not that I hate Quidditch. I just like real Quidditch matches. Ever since my first year I haven't really enjoyed the school matches. It's always just favoritism towards Slytherin or Gryffindor anyway. No one ever supports Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. All anyone cares about is the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry, even people in our own houses. It was one of the reasons I was so happy Cedric was picked last year, and we all know what happened there," Chester continued. "For once, I'd just like to see people care more about Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff. I'm tired of how unrepresented we are. Not even our academic scores matter."

"And this involves Quidditch how?" I asked. "It's about talent."

Chester snorted. "Not always. You didn't hear that Malfoy bought his way onto the team? And who says Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw aren't talented in Quidditch? We haven't won in years, but that doesn't mean anything, even if we did. No one would care either way."

"I don't agree with that," I said. "I think people would be happier. You're not the only one who feels this way. Believe me."

"Maybe, but I've been at this school for six and a half years. I've yet to see Ravenclaw represented besides good marks, but that doesn't matter either. When was the last time we won the house cup even? Sorry about the rant, Barry. I'd just had more hopes when I started here. All I see is Slytherin versus Gryffindor and popularity. And now, we have all these idiots who are in denial about the most serious thing we could go through. Again. I was just a little kid the first time you-know-who was first around but I remember how scary things were. And now it's all back, and the Ministry is in denial. Things are just going to get worse before they get better," and then he sighed. "But you came to me about advice about girls. I still say you're too young, but if you really want to do do it, I can't stop you."

"Technically you could," I said. "You're Head Boy and you know my parents."

"You and I both know that if you truly want to do it, none of that will stop you," he said. "And I'd rather you be informed then to go into it without knowing anything. So, the first thing I am going to teach you is the spell, but muggle condoms also work quite well. I have a bunch, and you can easily get some as well. You should during Christmas break. You can go into muggle london if you go to Diagon Alley."

"If mum and dad let me go to Diagon Alley," I said. "But even with knowing all that, how do you know which girls are willing, and which aren't?"

"Honestly, you know who wants to snog don't you? You just ask them if they want to go further, and you make sure they know it's no strings attached. I'd say you should go for older though, and never the ones below fourth year. They might say they're willing, but they are way too young, and they might think they should to make you happy. That's something you need to make sure with any girl. You never want them to feel pressured. That's why I think you should wait. By my age, they are more than willing to show you they want it. Younger girls aren't."

"Glenda kind of showed it, but we never went that far but we touched," I admitted.

"That's usually how you know, if they are confident with it. It's why I think you should wait at least another year," Chester said. "You're hormonal, so you want it but you might not be ready, especially when it's just casual. It's why it's recommended to have a girlfriend first. That way you both trust each other, you both know you're ready, and it's less likely you'll have regrets. Unfortunately, us Hoofer men aren't the smartest when it comes to that. We've all followed the wrong head, and it's why we have warned you, and I hope you talk to Benny when he is old enough. It's not just about self-respect, Barry, though it's a good part of it. Just because you feel you're ready, it doesn't mean you are. There are other ways-"

"I know those ways," I interrupted. "But it's not the same as a real girl."

"But it's safer," Chester replied. "Look, I get it. We've all gone through it. I still go through it. I just want you to be sure and to be careful. You've come to me for advice and I want you to know everything. I think you feel that since you're nearly fifteen you're ready but you might not be. I felt that way too. Just keep talking to us, even next year after we're gone. We'll be there for you no matter what, Barry."

"I know," I said. "It's why I thought of you. I'm glad to have someone I can talk to you."

"Just promise you'll do the same for Benny and Sam if you can," Chester said. "I know you won't be at school when Sam starts, or when Benny is old enough, but you're just a letter away."

"I'll try," I said. "I don't want either one to be as confused as I am. I already decided that when it comes to Ben a long time ago. Just so you know, if you see him, he doesn't like Benny anymore. he thinks it makes him seem like a baby. He wants people to call him Ben."

Chester smiled. "If he is anything like you were at that age, I am not surprised. I remember when he would get upset when people would call him Benjamin instead of Benny."

"He still hates Benjamin," I said. "And I think he is more mature than I was. If I ever was mature. Emotionally, he can still be his age but other times he seems like he can be fourteen like me. But he knows more than me. He reads everything he can. He's had to explain things to me. I bet he would explain things to

. He might even have more sense when it comes to sex than any of us. He might be the one who waits until marriage or something."

"I said the same about you once," Chester said with a smile. "About a year before you started at Hogwarts, we all talked about how we are idiots when it comes to girls. I remember we thought about you, and how you seemed so smart for a ten-year-old, but people thought the same about the rest of us too. Once you get hormonal, all sense goes out the window. I'm willing to bet in first year you thought it was all dumb, but now you don't. I recall you telling us when you were eight that drinking was stupid when we discussed how to sneak some. Your mind changes at a certain age. It's odd talking to you about this, and someday you'll think the same about Ben."

"I think the same right now," I said. "And he has noticed pretty girls already. You're right. He could be the dumbest out of all of us considering how emotional he is. I wish so much that he was Brianne's age instead so I could look out for him more."

"So think of Ben and think about how we feel about you," Chester said. "It's why we want you to be careful. Look, did you ever think of how young Tommy is, and yet he already has a family? Why do you think they left the UK? Jefferson isn't going to be going to Hogwarts. They're going to be homeschooling him."

"Tommy is in his twenties at least," I said.

"But has a kid about the same age as Sam," Chester said.

"I guess I never put two and two together with him," I said. "He always seemed so much older so I didn't think much about it when it came to Jefferson. Wait, that isn't why he isn't getting a trust fund is it?"

"I don't know," Chester shrugged. "Not all of us are getting the same amount. Some grandchildren are getting more, like you lot while the rest of us aren't."

"You're not either?" I asked.

"Just fifteen grand," Chester answered. "I don't care though. They obviously had their reasons for why they are giving more to some kids and not the others. There are a lot of grandkids after all."

"I don't think that's fair though," I said. "It should be even, and they had a lot of gold."

"It was up to them who they wanted to give it to," Chester replied. "They obviously had their reasons. Maybe because you lot are the youngest, or maybe not. They didn't just give money to the grand kids after all. They gave all our parents money when they first started out. Mum and dad once said they thought it had to do with which of our parents expanded their gold the most. Your parents expanded their gold the most out of all of us, and Sam's, Julie's, Jane's and Sabastian's. Or maybe it's because their family is the same as yours. Four kids, two girls in the middle. No one really knows."

"Tommy's parents expanded their gold too though," I said. "So it must be because of that at least. And there is a reason we all have to be twenty-five for it."

"Not for all of us. The kids who don't get a lot get it as soon as they're done. It's just your families who have to wait until twenty-five. But however much your getting, they must think it's a lot for seventeen or eighteen year olds."

"You don't know how much we are each getting?" I asked him with surprise.

"Nope. That was up to our grandparents. You don't have to tell me," Chester said.

"We each get five hundred thousand," I said. "It doesn't seem right that you only get fifteen thousand."

Chester's eyes widened but then he finally shrugged.

"It was up to them," he said again. "Christ, you lot are going to have it made though. I knew it was a lot, but half a million Galleons? No wonder they're making you wait until you're twenty-five."

"It doesn't make you upset?" I asked with surprise.

"In a way, I suppose," he said. "But it was their decision. They obvious have their reasons. They had a lot of people to leave the gold to. They had a lot of gold, but not enough to distribute. Maybe they just chose people first, and then realized they'd given too much to some and not to others. I thought maybe it was because you're the youngest, but Sebastian, Julie, and Jane are the oldest. Unless maybe they didn't get it. It's not something the cousins have discussed. We just knew we got money, and some got more than the others."

"They all have nice homes though," I said. "But Garth has a nice home now too, and he didn't get as much either. I don't know how much."

"Same as Ralph will get. Fifteen thousand, but his parents gave him some, and he stayed at home and saved everything before he moved out. I think he has a big mortgage though," Chester answered. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, Barry. We're luckier than some kids are. Very few get money when they're done Hogwarts. Some leave with no gold at all."

"Our great-great-grandparents did from the sounds of it. All of this is from them, isn't it?" I asked. "They're the ones who expanded the gold to what it is today. The Hoofer's weren't always rich, and our family name is new isn't it. We weren't always the Hoofer's."

"I don't know much about our genealogy to be honest with you. I know we're an ancient pureblood family, but who we are related to, I don't know," Chester said with a smile. "I've never given it much thought though. I just know we're a rich family. I have my parents money too you know. I've grown up in a mansion, and I've had a sheltered life. So I don't feel as if I'm missing out too much just because I'm not getting as much as you, and I would like to expand it on my own anyway. I think it must be in our blood or something. Every person in our family seems to want to do better. Have you even thought of what you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"Work in the Ministry, but nothing beyond that," I said. "I'm waiting for those pamphlets next year, but sometimes Department of International Magical Cooperation. I would get to work with foreign wizards and maybe travel. Last year it was really cool to have those foreign students here, but I was too young to talk to them. At times, I think I want to work with dad in Law Enforcement though. I also heard Ginny Weasley talking about how her oldest brother Bill works on breaking curses in Egypt. I wouldn't mind that either. Travelling for work would be amazing. It's why I took the classes I did. To work in the Department of Mysteries, a lot of them expect you to have Divination as well. If I could, I'd like to work there too. Dad said they do all sorts down there."

"I've heard," Chester said. "I'm undecided too. It's why I'm traveling next year. I may not even come back here. With all that is going on, I don't know if the UK is the place for me. Ralph feels the same. We might even go to the States. The school they have out there is similar to Hogwarts. So we may raise our families out there."

"You're just leaving me? All of us in this mess?" I asked.

"If they need help we'll come back, but for the time being, I feel it's best for now," Chester said. "I've already lived in a world with You-Know-Who. I don't want to again, and maybe in the States we can find a way to get rid of him. Eventually he will try to take over the world. There have to be people over there and in other countries who won't stand for it. They must be planning something as we speak. Besides Barry, you'll be here at school. Safe. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world to be. If you need us, we'll be there. I'll leave you something to contact me with, safely. I think a lot of us are planning to leave though. You might want to consider the same."

"I want my kids to go to Hogwarts," I said. "War or no war, England and the UK is my home. Nothing will make me leave."

Chester opened his mouth to say more, but we were suddenly surrounded as kids walked around us, all chatting excitedly. The Quidditch game must have been over. Some looked angry, but others were talking about a fight or something as well. Chester and I glanced at each other with surprise as they moved around us.

"Do you have everything you need to know?" He asked. "I should go find out what is going on. Come to me anytime though."

"I'll go ask Nick and Tasha what happened," I said.

My head was full and not with the sex advice he'd given me but everything else. The family money, and the fact that it seemed a lot of the family might be leaving the UK for good. Chester and Ralph were leaving, but some of the others had as well. I used to think that at a time, Hogwarts would be full of Hoofer's once we all started to have kids. By the sounds of it, that wouldn't be the case.

I moved around all the people to hurry and find out what happened. Though from the gist of the conversations I heard, it sounded as if Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy got into a fight on the Quidditch Pitch. I rushed past everyone, even ignoring the fact that Darren and Brenda were holding hands until I finally found my friends in the common room. They were sitting at our usual table.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Malfoy was running his mouth," Nick said. "We didn't hear what was said, but it was obvious he was saying something. One of the Weasley's twins attacked him, and then Harry Potter and the other twin attacked him. Gryffindor won, so Malfoy must have been pissed off about it."

"Whatever he said must have been really bad," Tasha said. "But I've heard Harry has been losing his temper a lot. Usually, the twins are happy though. So whatever it was… well, I could be wrong but it must have been about their family. I know Malfoy makes fun of Ron a lot. Ginny told me. He likes to hold his wealth over Ron."

"You're probably right," I said. "I'd have gone, but I really wanted to talk to Chester."

"Did you get your sex advice then?" Tasha asked smirking while she began pulling books from her bag.

"Well yes, but he told me more," and I told them everything we'd discussed. "I feel bad that they aren't getting as much."

"Not much you can do unless you feel like sharing your wealth," Nick told me. "You never told us exactly how much you're getting. You just said you'd be getting a trust fund."

"I try not to tell too many people," I answered. "Mum and dad advised me against it but my cousins would never take it if we decided to share it. If all eight of us decided to give them our money, they would turn it down."

"So that's four million galleons just between the eight of you, but they gave out more," Nick said.

"I don't know the exact net worth but I know they gave millions to our parents," I said. "I don't know how much money my parents have. They were given a lot and then they expanded whatever it was. They expect us to expand it too, but with the amount we're given, I don't think it will be hard. I think it's what our grandparents want too. Why else wait until we are twenty-five?"

"Blimey," Tasha said. "And you know, I think Ben will make the most. He already knows and understands money."

"Yeah I know," I agreed. "I've seen him figuring it out over pieces of parchment. He also wants to build his own place, so he knows he has to make as much as he can between now and when he is twenty-five. He saves every knut he gets. I've told him that once he comes here, and gets a girlfriend he'll want to spend on dates but he says he can do both and he said he plans to work like I do as well."

"Can your parents adopt me?" Nick asked with a wink.

"The trust fund doesn't come from them," I told him smiling. "But they practically have anyway."

"Then I am moving in with you and your future wife," Nick told me laughing.

"You can sleep in the cellar then," I told him smiling. "But until then, why don't the three of us live together after Hogwarts? I don't plan to stay at home and I think we've discussed this a bit. I think we should do it. We could get a flat together in Diagon Alley or something."

"Or something," Nick said. "I think muggle London. Diagon Alley is very expensive. Unless you own a shop or something, it's better to just live somewhere else."

"Muggle London is expensive too," Tasha said. "We'll have to shop around I think. We could find a little town or something. We're all starting out, so to find something in our price range and three bedrooms, it might be expensive in London."

"We'll start searching in sixth and seventh year and we can all save up by then too," I said. "If we have to, we can just get a two bedroom and Nick and I will share, and you can have a room. Maybe you can find a girlfriend to join too. Maybe Luna can or something."

"Then we can listen to some barmy story every morning," Nick said. "You know, I think I'll miss that. So we should invite her to live with us."

"We'll wait for that in seventh year," Tasha said. "A lot can change in a few years. Lets just hope the war is over."

I was sure anyone who believed was hoping the same thing. I hoped that by the end of the year, everything would be done and over. It seemed things always happened at the end of the school year, so perhaps it would all be wrapped by then.


	30. Fourth Year Part Six

The rest of the term went by quickly without anything too exciting happening. Hagrid did return to the school, though he looked quite beaten up. He refused to tell us why though or where he was. Nick spent the rest of the term badgering him about where he was and why he looked beaten up, but he always looked frustrated by this. He did admit to us that he was put on probation, but other than that, he was very secretive.

I was relieved when term was ended and we could go home. Ben had written to me several times just to be sure we were coming home, and I promised him we would be. I knew he was likely lonely and worried. The moment mum and dad apparated us home, he ran to hug all three of us, and then Tasha, who mum still had to drop off.

"Hi little brother," I said as I hugged him tightly. "You look as if you've grown since September."

"Well, I am nine now," he said seriously. "I probably won't stop growing until I am seventeen."

"I think you've stopped growing now," Brenda said but she was smiling for once. "Anyway, I am going up to my room."

"Wait, we want to hear how your term went," mum told her. "Sit down all four of you. I'm just going to drop Tasha off, and then the three of you can tell us how it went."

"Do we have to?" Brenda asked. "Why do we always have to sit together and talk about our terms, and why right now? Why can't it wait?"

"Well what do you have to do that is so important?" Dad asked her. "If you dislike it so much, wouldn't you rather do it now?"

"Whatever," Brenda said as she sat down. "But I'm telling your right now that nothing exciting has happened."

Brianne seemed more than happy to talk, so we allowed her to go first. Though we should have gone from oldest to youngest as we usually did. She took forever, to tell them everything. I'd have to let her know later to just give the cliff notes at these family meetings. If she wanted to tell them everything, she could do it on her own time.

Brenda didn't even bother mentioning her relationship with Darren, and I wanted to call her out on it given the fact that she always did it to me, but I didn't. I wanted us to get along, and fighting for the next few weeks was very undesirable to me. So I just told them what I could.

The talk went to them telling us what they thought they knew about You-Know-Who (which was nothing) before we were finally dismissed. Ben ran straight to take both Brianne's hand and mine. He led us up the steps quickly, and straight to his room.

"So?" He asked after he shut his door.

I took a look around his room. Usually there were toys everywhere, but he'd really straightened his room up. Not that it was ever messy, but usually there were toys around to show he'd been playing, or else he had them up on his shelves. His old toy box was still there, but otherwise, his shelves were full of books. His walls no longer had the childish posters on the wall.

"What happened in here?" I asked. "Where are all your toys? Don't tell me you've stopped playing completely."

"I still play sometimes," he responded. "Some of them are in my toy box and the rest are in my closet. Mum and dad thought that was better than putting them in the attic. I just wanted my room to look a bit more grown up."

"No offense, but it looks a bit boring," Brianne said. "Where is your personality?"

"I thought I'd wait to really decorate until I go to Hogwarts," Ben answered. "I want to decorate in my house colours. The kid stuff really doesn't suit me. You two can give me ideas on how to decorate until then though. Three years from now, I'll be decorating it in my house colours."

"Well, I think we can think of something," Brianne said. "The walls are bare. We could put up Quidditch posters or something. Right now, it looks kind of like a guest room."

"Forget all that though," Ben said and walked over to sit on his bed. "Tell me what went on and not silly things about having parties with the girls. I want to know the important stuff. Mum and dad haven't told me much."

"Ben we don't know anything about You-Know-Who if that's what you're asking," I told him. "We were hoping you'd heard things."

"They make sure to wait until I am in bed now," Ben said. "And I've tried staying up late but I've never been good at that. I always fall asleeping fast."

"Hogwarts basically has people who believe, who don't believe, and rats," Brianne said as sat down on his other bed. "You don't know who you can trust and who you can't. I'm lucky with the girls in my dorm, although a couple don't. Some people are barmy enough to be scared of Harry Potter."

"Like in my year," I said. "Most of the kids are scared of him. Anytime they see him, they move closer together."

"Reality will hit them soon. What about the secret group though?" Ben pressed. "I overheard mum and dad talking about a secret group that is rebelling against that Umbridge woman. Please tell me you're part of it, and tell me more about her."

Brianne and I looked at each other. I'd finally told Brianne about it, but not very much. I just told her we were unofficial members and that was it. I walked over to Ben's shut door and opened it to make sure that Brenda wasn't trying to listen in. The girls room door was shut, and it appeared she was listening to the wireless. I could hear a song from the Weird Sisters in the hallway. I carefully shut the door again and then walked over to sit beside Ben.

"I'll tell you everything, but Ben, you can't tell

not even Sam. It is very important that just the two of you and that you don't tell anyone," I said.

"I've kept quiet, but I am glad you're finally telling me why," Brianne said.

"I was worried we'd be overheard," I explained to her and then I told them everything.

Hermione had told me I could, so I told them everything that we'd discussed, including Hermione's hesitance so that they would understand that she truly was trusting us. I still felt that she wasn't too happy that I wanted my little brother and sister to know. Brianne sat with her mouth open once I got to the acne part.

"But that's a dirty trick!" Brianne said.

"It's insurance. And so be careful. Maybe she made it up when it comes to the pinky swear, but maybe not. She is trusting us, and she had to make sure that we wouldn't do it. She is trusting everyone on that list. Look, I trust you both, but I know how you two are when you are excited about telling people things as well. I know you would never do it on purpose. Please be careful. Mum, dad, Sam, and any other friend can't know for the time being," I said. "And not just because you're worried about a bit of acne."

"Okay, so why don't you two join then?" Ben asked.

"I don't think I'm allowed since I am a first year," Brianne said. "That's how it sounds anyway. Maybe when I am older."

"And I am being cautious. We can go at any time, but Umbridge seems to be on the lookout for any rule breakers even more than ever. Plus you know how Brenda can be. There is a reason I didn't include her. Something tells me a bit of acne won't stop her from blabbing. For now, we are waiting. They're just learning spells anyway. They aren't doing any rebelling yet."

"But what if you need to be prepared?" Ben asked. "They're training themselves for a reason. I'd join if I were at Hogwarts. You can't expect to just sit around and do homework, that won't help you."

"Well, we have been kind of looking up spells on our own," Brianne said. "Sometimes we sit in the boys dorm and go over them. We have to be careful because anyone can walk in. We know the theory behind spells. Umbridge isn't wrong when she says you have to know the theory too. You need to be able to cast them as well of course, but knowing how it works does help. I've learned that in other classes. We're practising wand movements and all."

"She is right about that so what makes her useless then?" Ben asked. "What's wrong with knowing about the theory of spells?"

"Because it's all she is teaching us," I explained. "She's not letting us do magic at all. All we do is read from a book. Theory is good, but you need to know the incantation, the wand movement and how to actually cast the spell. We've done some stuff, just not enough. Probably not what the DA is doing."

"Can't Brianne be on the lookout for the three of you though?" Ben asked. "And then you go and then you teach her what you've learned, and then the two of you can show me. I'll need to know eventually, even if you just use a fake wand to show me."

"I thought you thought that was dumb," I said.

"Well, I don't anymore," he told me. "Mum and dad pointed out to me how useful it actually is. I have one over there," and he pointed to one on his desk. "I've been using it and your old textbooks. You know, if someone channels their magic hard enough, they can cast with anything and not just a wand. A wand is just a magical instrument to help you better. However, people can do wandless magic, and I learned that it's possible to be able to do it with anything."

"Wait, so can you actually do magic with that thing?" I asked him impressed.

"I don't know," he answered. "I locked my door once but that was it. I haven't been able to do it since. It tires me out too much. I've tried making myself angry to do it, 'cause you know how magical temper tantrums work, but it doesn't work. I read up about it, and got the idea. Sam tried too, but he couldn't do it. We figure we should be prepared for our first years. If You-Know-Who is still around, I want to help fight. That's why you should go to those meetings. They are probably dueling you know."

"I'll think about it, but Ben, I am in the fourth year. If I am caught, not only could I lose my chance for a prefect badge but I could get expelled. I want to be prefect next year. I've told Tasha and Nick they're more than welcome to go without me, but they haven't yet. I think Tasha is worried as well. She's muggleborn after all, and her mum and dad ignore her. Imagine her getting expelled."

"Well, she can live here," Ben said. "Mum and dad said that if for some stupid reason that Umbridge gets you expelled, they'll train you at home. They said they'll do whatever it takes to stop it from happening, and they won't let them snap your wands."

"I don't think they could do the same for Tasha, and besides, I don't think they mean when it comes to going to a meeting with that group. They told us not to," I told him. "Look, I seriously will think about it, but I can't make any promises. I have to think about my future and mum and dad's careers as well."

"Mum isn't going back to work after the holidays," Ben said smiling now. "She is staying home with me. She said she might go back part time eventually, but she wants to spend her time with us, especially with You-Know-Who. I'm glad. I don't like being left home alone, even for a couple hours."

"I'm glad too," Brianne said. "I hate knowing you're by yourself sometimes. I've worried about you sometimes."

"I just wish I'd been born August 31st instead of September 30th," Ben said. "I have to wait forever to go."

"It will go by quick," I told him. "And we promise we'll tell you anything you need to know. We'll spend as much time as we can with you too."

"Even Easter?" Ben asked. "You didn't last year."

"This year maybe, but I might not next year Ben. It's OWL year next year," I told him. "Chester and Ralph told me that it's better to stay for holidays for exams. I don't even know if they'll be around for New Years this year."

Ben didn't appear to care, but then again, he didn't know our older cousins all that well. When he saw them, it was over the holidays and when they babysat him, but he wasn't close to any of them like I was. I hadn't been close to them at one point either. So it was understanding that he wasn't all that bothered by this news. Sam was his closest cousin.

"I can't imagine not coming home for holidays," Brianne said.

"You'll understand when you're older," I told her. "Last year I stayed because of the Yule Ball, but once you are a fourth year, they start giving you a lot, especially over the holidays. It's easier to practice spells and to have the library there."

"Mum and dad got me a lot of books," Ben said and he jumped off the bed and rushed over to grab a book.

Brianne and I glanced at each other while he did this. Was he trying to have his very own library or something? She wanted the same, but she wanted a combination of fiction books, and non-fiction but it seemed Ben wanted books where he could look anything up at any time.

"We can find out if Hermione is lying or not," Ben said once he returned. "Why does she have a weird name?"

"Ask her parents that," I said with amusement.

He opened the book and flipped through it. It was a book about hexes, jinxes, and bonds. He flipped until he found the pinky promise. I was surprised it was in there. I'd always believed the pinky promise was just a fun thing, and the only reason people felt bad was because of their conscious. I never understood how it linked the other person to you, but it did.

Ben was silent as he read through text that seemed too small for him. At his age, I would get frustrated by text that small. I assumed it must have had big words for someone his age, but apparently not. Brianne stared at me with raised eyebrows.

"Guess she is right," he finally said. "But how did she get it so that we aren't all linked by the jinx? I can't find that. If I tell mum and dad, all of us would get jinxed… unless-" and then he began reading through the text again.

"You seem like you should already be at school," Brianne told him.

"She must know some kind of counterspell or something," he concluded. "Something that makes it so we're linked, but it would only affect one of us. She is very clever and you said she did the Protean charm too? I read you don't learn that until NEWT level!"

"She's one of the smartest witches there," I said. "But maybe you can give her a run for her money when you are there. I couldn't read textbooks like this at your age, especially with tiny writing. I had a hard time in first year!"

"It was hard at first," Ben admitted. "But I have so much time on my hands now, and I've been reading a lot. It helped to read the Daily Prophet first. It had tiny reading too. Sometimes it can be a very boring read, but when I want to look something up, it makes it easier. I really wanted to know about what Hermione did, so it wasn't hard to read this."

"Well, now that we know it's possible, make sure you two keep it secret," I said still feeling amazed with my little brother.

I could see my brother being top of the year in every single class. I was only in the top five, not that it wasn't anything to be proud of, but I believed he was one of those kids who would compete for the top. I just wanted good grades, I wanted to be a prefect, and maybe someday I'd be a Head Boy too. If for some reason, I lost out on that badge next year, I wouldn't be that disappointed. I think Ben would be.

"I think I'll be in line for Prefect next year," I said to change the subject and to see if I was right about Ben.

"I hope I will be," Brianne said. "I do well and my marks for first term looked great, but Hilda is very smart too."

"I'm surprised by that," I said. "She doesn't seem like it."

"Who is Hilda?" Ben asked.

"One of my friends. I told you about her. You'll meet her after Christmas. I invited the girls over until New Years day. They're very nice, but just to warn you, I told her all about you, including the fact that we used to call you Benny. So she might call you that. Anytime I got a letter from you, she'd ask if it was from Benny."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll just tell her not to call me that. Do you think I'll do well in school? I want to be top of my year, and a prefect, a Quidditch captain and Head Boy. I've gotten really good at being a Chaser you know."

He confirmed by beliefs and he even went one step further by wanting to be a Quidditch captain too. I hoped my brother wouldn't put too much pressure on himself. I had a feeling he felt he had a lot to live up with being the youngest. I glanced at Brianne who was staring at Ben with wide eyes.

"Ben," she said. "Do you expect to ever sleep at Hogwarts? That's a lot to take on. I'm just a first year and sometimes I feel like it's a lot, but it's nothing compared to Barry's workload and I've heard that fifth year and NEWT level can be a nightmare. How are you going to do all of that? And you'll want friends too. You won't have time!"

"Any friends I make will understand that," Ben said. "I mean, all of yours do don't they?"

"They do, but Ben, that's still a lot to take on," I told him.

"I still worry I won't even make any friends anyway," Ben said. "I don't think I'll ever make as good of friends as your group Barry. You, Tasha, and Nick are tight and I don't know if I can trust people that well. Mum and dad say you have to be careful who you trust now. How do you know that you can trust your new friends, Brianne?"

"I just do. You have to be careful, but you have to give people a chance as well," Brianne said. "I just know with my friends."

"Well, I hope you two are right," Ben said with a sigh."I wish Sam could have been born in August at least. Then we'd be the same year."

I had a feeling my little brother was one of those kids who would stress a lot. I truly hoped he would find a great group of friends like I did. I thought he was likeable enough, and not just because I was biased. I think he would push people away however by being too serious. He already was because he didn't want people do see him as a little boy still. He wanted to seem so much more grown up. The fact he'd put all his toys away proved that. I wondered how many girls would be able to handle someone that serious?

After Christmas, the house was full of kids. I invited Tasha and Nick over, Brianne invited her girlfriends, and Ben invited Sam over and after a while, Brenda decided to invite Kendra over. She did beg me to invite Darren and his friends over, so I tried for her sake, but none of their parents would let them come.

"It's probably for the best anyway," I told her after getting a letter from Philip. "You're trying to hide it from mum and dad anyway."

"I miss him though," she said and then she pointed at her ears to show me a pair of Ravenclaw crests. "Look what he bought me. He's really sweet."

I was in shock to see her even wearing jewellery. Mum had gotten her ears pierced years ago, but she rarely wore earrings after her tenth birthday. In fact, as I stared at her, I noticed she was even wearing makeup. Having a boyfriend certainly changed her, and I wasn't sure if I liked that. I didn't want her to look prettier so that more boys wanted her.

"That was nice of him," I finally said. "Well, maybe next time. Maybe Easter their parents will change their minds."

"What I don't understand is why Ivan and Kevin aren't even allowed,' Tasha said later on when we were in my room. "They're muggleborn."

"Unless they just didn't want to come over," Nick said. "They're friendly with us, but they aren't our friends, and they don't believe Harry."

"Well, it's more than likely Darren's parents wouldn't want him to come though," I said. "They know our family and they know the Hoofer's stand on it, even if we don't go around announcing it. Most of these people don't want to be associated with people who believe."

"Well, that's just dumb," Tasha said as Ben and Sam suddenly rushed into the room.

"I don't like Brianne's friends," Ben said as Sam shut the door behind them. "Look at my cheek!"

I glanced at his cheek, and then Sam's who was pointing at his own as they walked over to us. They were both red for some reason.

"Why-" I began but Ben interrupted as he flopped onto my bed.

"They were pinching our cheeks!" He said annoyed. "And Brianne was right. Hilda does call me Benny. All of them do. Why did she have to them my old nickname? I told them to stop, but they didn't care. They kept going on how cute we are. I am not cute!"

"Someday you'll like it when girls think you are cute," Nick told him.

"Not the way they think I am cute," Ben retorted. "They don't see me as cute the way they see you or Barry. They see me as a cute little boy."

"Yeah!" Sam said as he folded his arms with annoyance. "They think we're cute little kids."

"And I am only two years younger," Ben continued.

"Oh Benny!" We heard and my door was thrust open.

Brianne's giggly friends spilled in. It looked as if they'd been trying to do makeovers or something, but they were all overdone. The makeup on their faces looked ridiculous, and their hair looked funny.

"What in the world have you lot been doing?" Tasha asked. "Have you forgotten everything I told you? You look like some of the girls from the muggles 80's telly shows."

"That's what we were trying to do," Brianne said told her.

They all took seats on the extra bed. They all looked ridiculous in my opinion, and yet I did recall seeing some muggles looking that way when I was younger. I truly hoped Brianne would never leave the house looking like that.

"I have some magazines from the 80's," Hilda said. "And it wasn't just muggles. Witches and wizards dressed up like it too. Everyone from that decade did."

"There is truth in that," Nick said. "But it looks ridiculous. The 80's have been over for a long time. It's the 90's now."

"It's fun to dress up though," Isabella said. "We'll wash it off later. We think they looked silly too."

"That's why we did it," Harriet said.

"We wanted to do Sam and Benny too, but they wouldn't let us," Hilda continued.

"You are not putting makeup on my brother," I told her. "Go find Brenda and Kendra and give them makeovers. Leave these two alone."

"Maybe we can do you two instead," Hilda said.

She got up from the bed and came over to stand close to me. I quickly moved away from her.

"Hilda," Brianne said with annoyance.

"What?" She asked trying to sound innocent.

"You know what," she said. "We talked about this. Now stop."

"Can you lot keep your voices down?" Brenda asked as she too entered my room with Kendra following.

I wasn't used to the house being this full. It was a good thing my parents loved kids. In fact, they'd told us to invite as many as we wanted. When I'd mentioned Darren and his friends, they were all for it. I liked it better when it was just Brenda and me, but Brianne was such a social butterfly. Now the house was full. Thankfully, now that I was a fourth year, I was allowed to join the adult party if I wanted.

"What is it that's so important?" Brianne asked her. "And this is house is big enough and you could shut the door to our room. I don't understand why you need silence. You've been finished your homework for days."

"Yes, well I am sick and tired of hearing giggly girls," Brenda said. "All you and your friends do is giggle and wear make up. I wish mum and dad hadn't let you invite so many people."

"You're just jealous because you only have one friend," Brianne retorted. "No one but Kendra likes you."

"Kendra is more decent than any of your friends. At least my friends aren't ditzes."

"Can't you fight in your own room?" I asked exasperated.

Why was everyone in my room? Either they all came in my room, or else they all went into Ben's room. Ever since everyone had come over, none of us could get any peace and quiet. I was glad that Brianne did find some loyal friends, but for once, I couldn't help but agree with Brenda. However, I felt that she instigated it at times. She kept fighting about all of them being in their bedroom. She'd already gotten yelled at by mum and dad once when she told them that this was proof that she needed her own room.

The girls were still shouting at each other.

"All of you get out!" I finally shouted. "Everyone except Nick and Tasha! Ben, you and Sam go to your room. The rest of you, go to Brenda and Brianne's room. This is my room, and I want all of you out!"

Grumbling, they all began to leave one by one. All of them saying I was too uptight. I really didn't care at the moment. I just followed them and shut and locked the door behind them.

"How is it possible that they seem louder here than in the common room?" I asked.

"Just wait until Ben is at Hogwarts," Nick said laughing. "He'll be bringing home friends too."

"Either I'll be staying at Hogwarts, or I'll be inviting you two at a different time. Besides, I'll be able to do magic by then. I can lock everyone out easier," I replied.

"I find it kind of exciting," Tasha said. "But I really do hope they don't plan to do the 80's look all the time. Being an only child though, it's kind of exciting having all these kids around."

"Speaking of which," I said as I looked at Nick. "How are your mum and dad? Your mum must be having the baby really soon, isn't she?"

"They're fine," Nick said. "Actually, they seem so distracted that they aren't as over protective of me. I'm hoping once he comes, they'll focus on him much more. He should be here late next month. Mum and dad said I can go home for the birth."

"Him? So you know it's a boy then?" Tasha asked.

Nick nodded. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you two. Yes, I'll have a little brother soon. They seem to want to copy your parents with leaving it as a N name. They're naming him Noah. It's going to be so strange having a little brother fifteen years younger. When I am thirty, he'll be a teenager. If I get married and have kids young, they might even go to Hogwarts together."

"That would be so neat though!" Tasha said. "It's great Barry has older cousins, but your kids could have an uncle looking out for them at school."

"Do you plan to get married and have kids straight out of Hogwarts?" I asked with amusement.

"I don't plan it, but you never know what could happen, right?" Nick answered with shrug. "Preferably I'd rather have my career going and have a nice savings but that doesn't always happen."

"I don't even want to think about kids or marriage yet," I said. "I can't imagine being a father. I couldn't even stand all of that going on, and yet I want to be a prefect. I'm going to be in charge of everyone, even people older than me."

"I think you'll be fine, you're good with kids," Tasha said to me. "I've seen you with your sisters and Ben for years."

"You'd do better than I would at any rate," Nick told me.

For the rest of the holidays, the three of us stayed in my room, though at times Tasha would go join Brianne and her friends but most of the time we stayed away from the younger kids. My parents were in their glory. Mum loved the fact that she could prepare a huge breakfast for all the kids that were over. It didn't matter that there were so many to cook for. She even talked excitedly about when Ben would finally be in school too.

My parents liked having parties and at times, I thought they wanted to be the big and cool party house. They were quite different from my aunts and uncles who enjoyed the occasional party, but there was no way Garth, Ralph, or Chester or my other cousins could have parties at home the way we could. They knew that they drank sometimes at New Years parties, but that was it. They didn't know about the school parties, or anything else. They were often quite strict, and it was why Ben didn't like going to Sam's too often. I hoped I'd be the kind of uncle whose nieces and nephews always wanted to come over.

That New Years seemed out of control that year. It was at the point where we could do whatever we wanted, even the little ones. Of course they couldn't sneak a drink, but they weren't kept in the one room anymore like we'd been as kids. Momentarily I felt that this wasn't fair. Brenda should have been in charge of everyone. I'd had to be every year, and last year if I'd been at home I would have been. However, I forgot about that after a while. I could see my parents point in a way anyway. The youngest kid was now eight after all.

I forgot about all of them anyway. The three of us had fun, and dad poured me a drink. He wouldn't allow Nick or Tasha to have anyway. Not without their parents permission. Once they were sixteen, it would be fine, but not when they were just fourteen. Nick did protest at first since he'd be fifteen soon, but my mother shook her head.

"Your parents trust us. Barry is our son. If they were here, it would be different," mum told him. "Generally we say at least sixteen, but we don't feel one year is too early."

"Besides, we expect he has actually tried some," dad added as he glanced at me with a small smile. "This time it's with our permission. That's the only one mate. No more after that. Don't even sneak it, otherwise we'll have to rethink letting all the kids out here for the party."

"I'm fine," I told him as I snatched up the drink.

It was just a pumpkin juice and rum drink, but I was happy with it. If they were giving me this privilege that had to open more doors to bigger things. It also told me they trusted me. I didn't know if Brenda had ever had a drink, I doubted it. She seemed so disapproving after all, but I couldn't see them letting her try at fifteen. While she was a lot better than she was, they didn't trust her. In fact, I could see her eying me as I made my way through the adults with the drink in my hand. She hadn't seen dad give it me, so I had a feeling she was going to tell on me.

I was surprised when we bumped into Chester, Ralph and Garth with some of my older cousins in the dining room, seated at the table.

"It's little Barry!" Sebastian, the oldest Hoofer cousin shouted.

I hadn't seen Sebastian, Julie or Jane in years. They were all out on their own. They rarely came with Sam and their parents, yet there were all three of them sitting with Chester and Ralph who I'd thought would have stayed at school.

"With a drink," Garth said with raised eyebrows.

"Dad poured it for me," I said as I joined them beckoning for Nick and Tasha to sit down as well.

"You three already look so grown up and it hasn't been that long since I last saw you," Garth said. "You and Nick have shot right up."

"I can't believe how grown up you are," Sebastian said. "I always find it odd whenever I see Sam, and yet you were probably about Sam's age the last time I saw you. What year are you in now?"

"Fourth," I answered before introducing them all to Nick and Tasha, and vice versa. I turned to Chester and Ralph. "I thought you two stayed at Hogwarts."

"We did, but we're seventeen. We told the teachers we were coming here for New Years. Though I think Umbridge did try to put a stop to it. Flitwick seemed rather frazzled when he gave us permission."

"What's going on with her?" Julie asked. "She's just some hag at the Ministry. I still can't understand why Fudge let her have that job. She's the type to rat people out to make her way up. She'd sell out Fudge and he has to know that."

"Probably why she is there," Nick said. "She'll report everything won't she? What happened to Rita Skeeter though. You lot work in the Ministry. Have you heard anything? She was writing things almost daily last year, and yet nothing this year."

"Not really sure what is going on with that," Jane said. "I work at the Witch Weekly, and she worked with us as a freelancer. She was always trying to get with every major news outlet in the wizarding world. We're surprised she didn't even try and get with the Quibbler, even if it is a mad magazine. Anyway, it is quite odd. She just stopped. She's around, but she won't write for anyone. She looks rather haggled."

"She probably saw something last year," Chester said. "She was always sneaking into the grounds to write things up. She probably saw something that scared her."

"Well, I don't like what I've been hearing with Umbridge there," Sebastian said. "I don't like how they're treating Harry Potter."

"Harry will get through it," Tasha said. "He always does."

We continued to talk, and it wasn't long before the others joined us, including Tommy Hoofer, who no one had seen in years. That was the biggest shock of the night. The other shock was that the first time in years, all the Hoofer cousins were together. I couldn't remember the last time we'd all been together. Maybe we hadn't been. Perhaps it had been long before Ben and Sam had some along. I had a distant memory of us all together when Brianne was just a toddler.

Of all the things that had happened that night, I hadn't expected all of us to sit together like this. The cousins who had exclaimed over how grown up I was were even more surprised to see that Brianne was now in school, and that soon Ben and Sam would be as well. I wondered why they were all here. Would we all make it out of this? Mum and dad had said the other night that they thought we'd have to have another war before it ended. And I knew everyone except the little ones would fight if they could. Every single one of us were Ravenclaws, but none of us sat around and did nothing. All of us were brave, and we wouldn't sit back and not fight if a war broke out.

I just hoped it would be a war that the little ones wouldn't have to fight in.

"So are the two of you going to keep the Ravenclaw tradition up?" Sebastian now asked Ben and Sam, as if reading my mind. "Every single person sitting here is a Ravenclaw. No Hoofer has ever been in any other house."

"That's not entirely true," Jane said. "Dad was Gryffindor, and we've had Hufflepuff's. I believe Slytherin's too when I think about it."

"I'm meaning out of our generation though," Sebastian said. "It's down to the B Hoofers and Sam."

"I'm not going to ask it to put me there," Ben said. "I don't not want to be in Ravenclaw but I'm not going to try and get in there either, even if it is family tradition. Maybe I'll be the Hoofer of our generation to break that tradition."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked sounding as if this idea was crazy. "You've got to be Ravenclaw. You just have to be! We always used to say we'd be in Ravenclaw together and we'd best friends."

"We can be best friends in other houses," Ben pointed out.

"It won't be the same," Sam said.

"Then maybe you'll break tradition too," Ben told him. "It's not the end of the world if we aren't you know. Your house doesn't define you anyway. Why do we only have friends in our own houses? Why can't we be friends in other houses? Isn't that one of the reasons we're having a war again? All the houses are divided and everyone is divided at Hogwarts right now because of You-Know-Who. No one wants to believe he is back. Some of it starts with thinking you should be in one house, and you shouldn't talk to people in other houses."

"Are you really nine?" Sebastian asked him. "You sound very mature for your age."

"Of course I'm nine," Ben answered him seriously. "I was born nine years ago in September."

This caused people to start laughing. I glanced over at Brenda who had stayed quiet the entire time she'd been there. Everyone, including Tommy had said something but she'd only said hi when she'd come over. She was staring over at Ben, but not with awe like some of the older cousins. She was glaring at him, and I couldn't understand why. She'd always known he could be older than his age. He'd been that way for at least two years. I nudged Nick and then nodded in her direction.

"I think she's not happy about the fact he thinks he won't be Ravenclaw," Nick muttered. "She has looked at him like that before when he has said that. I think she disagrees and she disapproves of it. She believes all Hoofer's should be Ravenclaws."

"That's just dumb," I said. "Ben is right."

It was just too bad older people, like the ones at Hogwarts or adults didn't agree with him. Most were set in their ways, and at the moment, I did hope my brother would be the one Hoofer who wouldn't be sorted in Ravenclaw. I'd love it if he were, but it would just prove something if he weren't. That maybe we all believed we should be Ravenclaw, even if we didn't ask for it. And he'd be the one who would make friends in all four houses. Sure, I was friendly with people in other houses and of course I'd dated girls in other houses, but I thought Ben would be the one who would make the difference.


	31. Fourth Year Part Seven

Shortly after that, we returned to school. The first few days were quiet. Everyone was just settling into the new term. Then the Daily Prophet reported some disturbing news. Ten of the most dangerous Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban. Rumours swirled around us about how it could have happened. Some wondered if Sirius Black was behind it. I wondered that as well. Maybe he was reporting to You-Know-Who.

"Bellatrix Lestrange is his cousin," Nick said. "And from what I've heard, she was close to You-Know-Who. Mum and dad told me that Bellatrix is awful though. I mean, obviously she is since she's a Death Eater, but she is one of the worst."

"I've heard that too," I said.

I wrote home to mum and dad instantly on my chalkboard. Apparently, Bellatrix actually tortured Chester's father, but thankfully she hadn't given him too much damage from it. I knew he had a limp, but I'd never given it much thought as to why.

They warned us more than ever to be on our guard, and to not break any rules. They wanted me to keep a close eye on my sisters, but I was planning on doing that already. The first years were sticking to each other as much as we had back when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. None of them wanted to walk alone as if they were worried that there might be an escaped Death Eater in the school.

I sought Hermione out a few days after the news came out to see what she knew.

"We still don't know much, but Barry, you really should think of coming to a meeting," she told me. "Now more than ever it's important."

"People are starting to believe Harry's story more than ever," I said. "I think even my dorm mates."

"I think soon it won't even be an argument," she told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I just think people are wisening up," she responded. "I have to go, but think of coming Barry."

I watched her go, but I wondered if she knew more than she was letting on. It wouldn't have surprised me in the least if she did. I quickly hurried to tell Nick and Tasha what she told me. I found them in the common room working on Umbridge's latest essay. I couldn't help but feel annoyed that we had to waste our time on it. I sat down and whispered everything to them.

"Maybe she does know something then," Nick said when I told them. "But maybe she can't say anything. More than likely she stayed with the Weasley's and Potter over the holidays. Don't think that she is always honest with us, Barry. She does have to keep some things secret for Harry after all. I didn't tell you lot, but mum and dad said that Arthur Weasley was attacked before the holidays. They wouldn't tell me anything else. They might have that on their minds."

I wondered why my parents hadn't told me that. Maybe they didn't think it was something that I needed to know, or maybe they thought it would worry me. Who attacked him though?

"Who attacked him?" Tasha asked as she set her quill down. She looked horrified. "He is okay, right?"

"He was released from St. Mungo's, so I imagine so. Mum and dad didn't tell me what happened," Nick said. "All they told me was to be careful at school and to just keep my mind on my school work. So it makes me wonder if someone did it because of Fred and George. They've been making Umbridge angry."

"You think she'd have someone attack someone's parent because of that?" Tasha asked.

"I don't know," Nick said. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's completely unrelated, but it _did_ happen at the Ministry."

"I'm going to write mum and dad," I whispered. "If they're attacking parents because kids are misbehaving then they are going too far. I'll be right back."

I got up quickly, but Nick and Tasha decided to follow me. When I reached the dormitory door, they were right behind me. We hurried inside, and then rushed up the steps to the second floor. I put a finger to my lips before I peered in just in case the boys were in there. I was sure I heard voices. When I glanced inside, it was to see Darren and Brenda sitting side by side and heavily snogging.

"Bloody hell!" I shouted.

"Get a room!" Nick added, but he was smiling.

Darren and Brenda broke apart and glanced over at us. Brenda's face was slowly reddening in embarrassment.

"Well, we did have a room until you lot came up here," Darren said with a small smirk which I wanted to curse off.

"What are you three doing up here anyway?" Brenda asked. "Spying?"

"No, we were looking for-" I began. "Never mind that. Don't snog my sister in the dormitories, Darren! This room is off limits!"

"I'll remind you of that if you ever bring a girl up here then," Darren said as he stood up.

He held a hand out to Brenda who stood up and took it. The two of them walked past us. As they went by, Brenda stuck her tongue out at me. I watched them go by breathing heavily from anger. I felt a hand on my shoulder which shook me out of my violent thoughts.

"You can't get angry with them," Tasha said. "Just leave them be."

"He'd better not ever bring my sister in here again!" I said. "They were sitting on a bed and snogging! Do you know what that can lead to? She is thirteen!"

"Mate, they likely just wanted privacy," Nick told me. "They probably weren't going to do much more than that. The curtains were open after all."

I gritted my teeth and pulled away from Tasha. I walked over to my bed where I stooped down and threw my trunk open. How dare he bring her up here to snog! I knew they were going to do it, but he should not have brought her up to the boy's dorms! I knew all about his experience and to see them sitting on his bed... all I wanted to do was punch something, or him. I had a feeling that Tasha and Nick were exchanging looks behind me which annoyed me even more.

I ignored them as I pulled out the chalkboard and then began writing a message to mum and dad. I came so close to writing about what I'd just seen Brenda doing, but I stopped myself. I remembered how angry I'd been last year when she'd done the same to me. I would be the worlds biggest hypocrite if I did it back to her. How was I going to learn to deal with the fact that my sisters were growing up?

"Are you calm yet mate?" Nick asked after a few moments.

"I'm fine," I said as I stood up.

I walked over to sit on the edge of my bed.

"I know they're going to snog, but seeing them on his bed... I just don't ever want to see that again!" I said.

"Well, don't get angry with me for saying this, but if they're going to shag, they won't do it in here," Nick told me.

"And you're underestimating your sister," Tasha added. "Brenda is a lot smarter than you are giving her credit for. She won't shag Darren. She knows she is too young."

I sighed.

"I know," I replied. "It was still too much of a shock."

"And we get that, Barry," Tasha said. "But don't go yelling at them later. They likely got the picture just now. If you go after them, you'll just be doing exactly what Brenda did."

I nodded as I felt the chalkboard heat up. Moments later, writing appeared on it. I assumed it was my mother, but I was impressed by the fact that she was able to write so small on the chalkboard. She'd sent a very long message about what had happened, or at least what she thought had happened.

"Shut and lock that door," I said after I finished reading the message.

Nick turned quickly to shut the door while Tasha came to sit beside me. I tried to ignore the thoughts that entered my mind as she sat close to me. For some reason, all I wanted to do was grab her and snog her. Nick returned moments later and sat on Tasha's other side which pulled me out of my forbidden thoughts. I didn't need to be thinking about my best friend that way.

"It says that he wasn't attacked because of any of the kids," I finally said. "Apparently he was attacked by something while he was doing something for the Order. Mum says we shouldn't talk about this at all in the common room, and that we should put it out of our minds. She says we should just focus on our school work since we have OWLs to worry about next year. She also says the Azkaban break out is unrelated."

"That really didn't clear anything up," Nick said. "I just have more questions. What attacked him then and why?"

"I'll ask," I said as I erased mum's message. "Just keep an eye on the door. Hopefully, no one is listening with an extendible or anything."

"Why would they be?" Tasha asked. "Are you meaning Brenda or-"

"I don't know," I interrupted. "I'm just paranoid, I guess."

"No one was out there when I shut the door," Nick said. "Darren and Brenda probably went and- well, anyway, I doubt anyone followed us up here to listen, Barry. No one will find it odd that we three came up here, and the common room wasn't that full anyway. If anyone comes up here, they'll open the door first."

I didn't respond. I knew they were both right and that I was paranoid for no reason. I just didn't want to break mum and dad's trust. I didn't respond. I just asked mum what attacked him and why? It didn't take long before mum wrote back. The chalkboard seemed to heat up instantly, and then mums message appeared.

 _We don't know anything beyond that dear. Don't worry about any of that. As I said, it's none of your concern. It doesn't affect you or us, so just put it out of your mind. Just focus on your school work, and don't anger Umbridge._

 _"_ I don't know what the point of telling me anything was then," I said with annoyance after I read it aloud.

"Or why my parents told me anything," Nick added.

I erased mum's message and informed her that we would behave. I got up and then put the chalkboard away. I wished so much that the adults would tell us more. I knew better than to ask Hermione as well. I knew she'd tell me the same thing. I was relieved to know that the Weasley's father was okay, but I wanted to know why he was at the Ministry for the Order. Was something happening there that would stop You-Know-Who?

* * *

After the Death Eater outbreak, not too much happened after that during January. Most people continued to talk about it, but we did as our parents told us to do, and we put it out of our minds. At least I tried to, but I couldn't help but feel scared. I knew Nick felt the same as his mother was due at any time. He would be going home for a little while when the baby was born, just to meet his new brother. I knew Tasha was scared as well, but she didn't say much. We did learn that Hagrid was put on probation, which upset all three of us. However, he wouldn't allow us to visit him anymore.

"It's times like this that I wish I were close to mum and dad," she told us towards the end of the month. We were wandering outside and talking. It was freezing out, but we didn't have to worry about being overheard. "I just want to know they're okay. It's why I went home for the holidays instead of your place Barry. I just wanted to be there for them just in case. I don't know a lot, but I know enough to protect us at least a little bit. I just worry about them when I'm here."

"I told you that my parents put protective charms on your parent's place," I reminded her. "They'll be alerted if someone untrustworthy goes there. It's the same protective charms mum and dad have on our place, except of course your place isn't hidden. I don't know how they work exactly, but if someone goes there, dad will know right away. He can go there to protect them."

"I know," Tasha said. "But I still worry. I just wish we were closer," and tears shone in her eyes. "What if they are killed, and we never make up? They ignored me the entire time I was at home. They didn't want me there, but they didn't stop me from being there either. I just want my parents to love me, and they don't even know what can happen to them!"

At that moment, I felt intense hatred for her parents. I'd never liked them, but I hated them as much as I hated Umbridge. Even after all these years, I still couldn't understand why they would ignore her. What kind of person ignored their kids for something they couldn't help? Tasha hadn't chosen to be magical after all. People who didn't want their children to be different shouldn't have them. All I could do at that moment was hug her. It was the first time that she'd cried in years over them. At least in front of us.

"You know, a Hogsmeade trip is coming up soon," Nick said. "We should start planning what we're going to do. None of us have dates again this time after all."

Tasha sniffled and pulled away from me.

"That sounds nice," she said as she wiped her tears away. "I wish we could go there now. I wouldn't mind a night out away from here. I'm sorry that I cried. I try so hard not to think about them, or cry around you two about it, but sometimes it really gets to me. I just want them to love me again."

"Don't ever be sorry about that," I said to her. "We're your friends, that's what we're here for. And my family will always be your family. Brianne and Ben love you, and so do my parents. You're welcome at my place anytime; you know that. Even when we're done at Hogwarts."

"I know," Tasha responded.

But I knew it wasn't the same as having her own parents love her. Someday when I had kids, I would love them no matter what. I didn't care if they turned out to be like Brenda and Gretchen, I would always love them. I wouldn't ignore them or make them feel bad.

"Did you say you wanted a night out?" Nick asked her who was smiling. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"It's probably too risky with Umbridge, and we do have a Hogsmeade visit coming up," she responded. "But I would love to do what you lot did last year."

"Then I think we should make that happen," I said. "We still have our potion, and it's still good. I asked mum and dad over the summer how long an aging potion would last," I explained as Tasha opened her mouth, maybe to ask how I knew. "I told them it was a project for Potions. Anyway, dad said if it's made properly it has a long life. So we should be able to use it."

"Let's make it happen then," Nick said. "We'll talk to your cousins later. We'll have to talk about it out here or something though. We can't risk Brenda finding out. Maybe we could get Brianne and her friends to be look out for us this time."

"Maybe they could come with us," Tasha said who didn't protest anymore. "Brianne would likely love to come too."

"But we'll probably drink firewhiskey," I said. "I don't know about them coming, but we should decide one when we'll do this then. Maybe this weekend even."

"No, we need to wait until after my parents have the baby," Nick spoke up. "Mum is due at any moment, and that might even be at night. If she goes into labour, and the prefects or someone have to look for me-"

"No, it's better to wait anyway," Tasha said. "It's much riskier to do it this year than last year. Umbridge might have spies all over the school. We need to plan, and we need to make sure Brianne and her friends are on board, even if they don't come with us. And we'll tell the first years they can't drink firewhiskey if they do come with us. Chances are your cousins will want to come again anyway. They'll make sure the kids don't drink any."

"Fair enough," I said. "The last thing I want is to get caught. I want that badge so much. Lets for find Chester and Ralph then."

And we began making the trek back into the castle. Tasha was right after all. It was a lot riskier this year, and Brenda wasn't on our side, especially lately. She hadn't really spoken to me since I'd caught her in the dorms. Whenever she saw me coming, she could get up and walk away. Darren acted as if nothing happened, and so did I. I just hoped he got the message that he shouldn't ever go in there with her again.

* * *

We weren't able to make much headway with plans on going to Hogsmeade unfortunately. Shortly after our conversation, Nick's mother went into labour, and so he ended up leaving. Chester and Ralph told us it was possible, but at the moment they were both really busy with homework and their duties that we had to wait. They were all for us all going there, but they wanted to make sure it was as safe as possible. Both thought it was great that Tasha wanted to break some rules. We didn't tell them why, however.

"Why would you want to sneak in when you're going in a few days?" Brianne asked when we told her our idea after Nick left.

"Because we want to drink firewhiskey," I explained to her. "We'll have to take the aging potion."

"Hmm, well, we can probably help you sneak in," she responded. "But I'm not going. I don't want to get caught. I'd rather you lot didn't get caught either, but I'm not going to stop you. I'm sure the girls will help as well. I'll talk to them about it, but we do have to be careful. Brenda watches me so closely. Maybe I should walk in on her snogging as well so that she'll ignore me. When do you plan to do it?"

"Whenever Nick gets back," Tasha told her. "I think he's off for a week at least. His parents are having all his school work sent home. I hope he brings lots of pictures of Noah. I love babies."

"Same here," Brianne said with a happy sigh. "I always wished mum and dad would have had at least one more."

"Brenda would do her nut if she did," I responded. "Especially if it was another girl. We'd probably have to get another house then."

Brianne began to giggle.

"Ooh, she'd be a nightmare. Anyway, could you two maybe stop by Zonko's for me? I have a list of things I'd like," Brianne said. "Oh and Honey Dukes too. I can't wait until I can go myself."

"I don't see why not," I told her.

However, Tasha and I didn't end up going to Hogsmeade. Nick was coming back that day, and the day was very rainy, so we decided to stay in the common room to wait for Nick instead. I wondered how he was returning. Was he flooing to Hogwarts or did he take the Knight Bus? I wondered if we should have gone instead to meet him there. We sat apart from the first and second years while we waited. Brenda had promised, though she hadn't wanted to, to grab some of the things on Brianne's list. Brianne had to promise she would do all her chores for her when we went home for Easter.

"There is still time for us to go," Tasha said to me.

"Go where?" We heard.

We both looked up to see Nick grinning at us. He was wearing his winter cloak which he began to take off as he took a seat at our table.

"We weren't sure how you were coming back," Tasha said with a smile. "How did you get back here?"

"Dumbledore's fireplace," Nick said. "Apparently, Umbridge made a big stink about it, but what can she do? Mum and dad didn't want me taking the Knight Bus by myself. I don't see why it's such a big deal anyway. Why does she care how I get home and back?"

"Probably just wants to use her power everywhere," I said. "So how is Noah? How does it feel to be a big brother?"

"He's great, but a lot smaller than I expected. I was scared to hold him at first. I've never met a newborn before. The youngest baby I've known was maybe six months old. I think he knows I'm his brother. He gripped my hand really hard when I held him," Nick told me.

I decided not to break it to him that it was a normal thing for babies to do, and that Noah likely didn't even know what or who he was gripping. I didn't want to rain of my friend's parade. Tasha and I just grinned at each other and allowed Nick to talk. I felt it was a better way to spend the day instead of walking around in the wet and cold weather. Just as Nick was pulling out the pictures of Noah, Brianne rushed over, squealing excitedly.

"Are those pictures of Noah?" She asked excitedly as she joined. "Can I see?"

And without waiting for an answer, she grabbed one of the pictures to examine it. I took one that Nick handed me. It showed a grinning Nick hold a tiny baby. Noah was moving around a little bit in the picture, while Nick stared down at him and then looked back up again. I'd forgotten how small newborns were as well. Had Ben really been this small at one time? And Brianne as well? I knew mum and dad had pictures of me holding them as well somewhere. In Brianne's picture, she actually spit up on me.

"I always find it so neat that the pictures move," Tasha said as she looked at one of them. "He is so adorable Nick. Congratulations on your baby brother."

"I just wish I could see him grow up the same way you've seen yours grow up," Nick said to me. "I'll only see him on holidays. He might not remember me."

"Only for the first few years," I reminded him. "We'll be done school in a few years, and you'll see him more. But you can spend summers with him, and he'll remember you. He'll look up to you as much as Brianne and Ben look up to me."

"Like I would ever look up to you," Brianne said with a wink. "It's Brenda whom I look up to. She's a better role model."

"Good to know," I said. "I'm glad I didn't go to Hogsmeade to get your things then."

She just gave me a cheeky grin before she took another picture to look at. Tasha and Brianne exclaimed over each picture happily. Meanwhile, for some reason, my thoughts went to what it would be like to have my own baby, and with Tasha. I shook my head quickly to make them go away. Why was I thinking like that? I was fifteen. Was it normal for people my age to think like that? And why would it be with Tasha? I wished these odd thoughts I'd been having about her lately would go away. I figured it was because I needed to meet another girl.

"Did your parents have any news about things?" I mumbled to Nick while the girls continued to look at the pictures.

"No, I did ask them, but dad told me not to worry about any of it," Nick whispered back. "Told me just to do school work and to mind Umbridge. I don't understand how he doesn't expect me to worry, especially with Noah here now. One of those escaped Death Eaters, Rookwood knew my parents back in the day. What if he goes after them? Dad said that they have enough protective spells on the house that they'll be fine."

I was tired of our parents telling us not to worry about any of it. It was rare for people to escape from Azkaban. Sirius Black had been scary enough, and now ten more had managed to get out. I still didn't get how people weren't connecting two and two together when it came to You-Know-Who being back, and the escaped prisoners. Often I wondered if they wanted to be in denial since the truth was much scarier.

* * *

The day after the Hogsmeade visit, Luna told us to put in an order for the next Quibbler issue, but she wouldn't tell us why. I found it to be an odd request, but I decided to do so anyway. At first, I didn't take her seriously, but I was extremely curious as to why she would want us to do so. Nick felt the same way, so he put in an order as well.

"Maybe it's something that will lighten everything up for us after all," Nick said with a shrug. "It doesn't cost a lot anyway, and I'm interested now."

"Maybe it's something important," Tasha said who put in an order as well. "Usually she doesn't care if we read it or not. And she didn't tell anyone else to do it. Just us three."

"But it's the Quibbler Tasha," I said. "It's usually full of silly things that people send in. It's probably about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but at least it will be a good laugh. We're all stressed these days, so we could all use a good laugh."

But it turned out we were very wrong. A week after her request, we were eating breakfast in the Great Hall on a Monday when the morning owls came in for their delivery. I looked up as I did every morning in case mum, dad, or Ben had a sent a letter. Instead of seeing Hooty, however, a strange grey owl dropped off a rolled up package to me. Seconds later, Tasha and Nick were given similar looking packages. Around us, people were discussing a Quidditch match that had taken place on the weekend, which we hadn't attended. No one was really paying attention except Luna, who was sitting across from us.

"They're here," Luna said. "I must go to Harry."

And before we could respond, she got up and walked off over to the Gryffindor table, where she took a seat between Ron Weasley and one of the twins. The three of us watched her go before exchanging looks. Now I was even more curious as I ripped open the package. A copy of the Quibbler fell out. I stared in disbelief as I stared at the cover.

HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:  
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED  
AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN!

"Oh my goodness!" Tasha said as she read her own copy. Her eyes were shining in excitement. "He gave an interview! He actually gave an interview."

I quickly opened the Quibbler to find the page where his interview was on. The oddest part about it was that Rita Skeeter was the one who interviewed him. No one had heard much from her for over six months. She hadn't written for any paper since before the end of the previous school year. As far as I knew, the last article she'd written was the one slandering Harry the day of the final task. Why was she suddenly on his side? And for some reason, I had a feeling Hermione Granger had something to do with it. I didn't know why except that she'd told me that people would likely change their mind soon. I knew Luna had branched out, and sometimes she talked to the Gryffindor trio and Ginny. It was all connected somehow.

"But will people take this seriously?" Nick asked. "It's in the Quibbler!"

"Maybe not, but don't you think they'll want more answers?" Tasha asked. "With that breakout and all, I think they might actually believe this. Oh my, he is so brave."

There was a bit of a commotion over at the Gryffindor table. The three of us watched as Umbridge walked over to where Harry was sitting with his friends and Luna. There were several owls around him, all seeming to have delivered letters to him. She didn't look impressed, and that moment, I wished I had one of the Weasley's extendible ears. We watched as Harry threw a copy of the Quibbler at her. Beside me, Nick was laughing. I was in too much shock at Harry's audacity to actually give her of all people the magazine.

I quickly rolled up my copy of the Quibbler and stuffed it in my bag. After a few moments, Nick and Tasha stared at us. Meanwhile, our dorm mates who weren't that far from us were staring at us.

"Well?" Philip asked. "Out with it you three, what is this about?"

"Later," I said. "Probably best not to talk about it in here."

"Then let's go now," Ivan said. "Harry gave an interview, didn't he?"

Without answering, I got up, and so did Tasha and Nick. The others followed quickly, including the other girls. I wondered what Gretchen would have to say now? I felt that most people were slowly changing their minds about Harry and You-Know-Who, but she seemed to be the most stubborn about it. However, she was right behind us as we left the Great Hall. No one said a word until we were outside of the Defense classroom. The door was closed which mean Umbridge wasn't there yet.

"Here," I finally said as I reached into my bag. "But I want it back, so look at it quickly before Umbridge gets here! We'll duplicate copies for you later."

I handed my copy to Philip and the other fourth years gathered around him to look at it. Their eyes widened all at the same time.

"Under Umbridge's nose?" Darren whispered. "Is he mad?"

"He really is back, isn't he?" Samaira asked fearfully, and I nodded.

"We've all been idiots," Philip said as he handed it back to me. I stuffed it quickly in my bag. "I just didn't want to believe it, but with that Death Eater breakout... well, I can admit that it was me who was in denial," and he looked at each of us in return. "And I'm sorry for saying it was the three of you who were the mad ones," as he said this, Luna joined us well. Philip looked right into her eyes. "And I owe you an apology as well, Luna. We've been making fun of you when we shouldn't be."

"Are all of your serious right now?" Gretchen asked. "You all believe this mad story? It's printed in the Quibbler. I don't believe a word."

"Then I feel sorry for you," Luna told her.

We couldn't say much more because at that moment, Umbridge appeared looking quite frazzled. I hid a smile behind my hand. I was glad to see that for once; she didn't look happy.

By mid-morning, she'd put up another one of her Educational Decree's which stated that anyone found with a copy of the Quibbler would be expelled. By that point, we'd duplicated our copies for our dorm mates, but we also charmed it to make it look like random pieces of parchment. She was stopping students to look through their bags to see if they had one. As I was headed down to the library later that day, she stepped in front of me.

"Empty your school bag, Mr. Hoofer," she told me.

"Why?" I responded defiantly. "What gives you the right to go through my bag?"

"Careful Mr. Hoofer," she responded. "Or else you'll find yourself in detention."

Rolling my eyes, I handed her my bag. I held my breath as she looked through it. I wished I'd thought to leave it in the common room. I could only hope my charms would stay strong. Fortunately, they seemed to work since she didn't seem to find anything that upset her. She tossed everything back into my bag and then handed it back to me.

"Satisfied?" I asked her.

"No I am not," she responded. "You may think you can give me attitude just because you're a Hoofer, but you cannot. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch in detention!"

"At lunch!" I responded angrily. "You can't give me detention during lunch!"

"Well, unfortunately for you, my evening is full Mr. Hoofer," Umbridge responded. "Lunch, and if you continue with this attitude, we'll make it a week."

I stared after her as she stalked off. I couldn't believe that I'd been given my first detention in years, and by that woman! And I could only blame myself for it. I should have just handed her the bag and kept my mouth shut. Angrily, I continued off to the library. I just had to hope Brenda wouldn't find out. She would love to rub it in, or even tell mum and dad. I planned to tell them myself, but I knew my sister. I wondered just what was in store for me the next day. I'd once heard that she made students cut up the back of their hands, but I didn't believe that for a second. It was just one of those silly rumours. Likely I just had to write lines or something.


	32. Fourth Year Part Eight

I waited outside of Umbridge's office feeling my stomach growling. I couldn't believe that she was making me skip lunch, and even worse, my parents weren't going to speak to her about it. They told me I deserved it after their many warnings not to anger her. Thankfully, Nick and Tasha promised they would grab me a sandwich. At least they were on my side about it. Brenda found out and had given me her superior attitude about it. She seemed almost happy to see me in detention, but I shouldn't have been surprised over that.

"I see that you're just in time," Umbridge said as she approached me.

She unlocked her office door and opened it. She beckoned for me to follow her where I entered a nightmare. At least it felt that way. All the surfaces of the room were covered in some cloth, perhaps lace, and there were vases full of flowers sitting on doilies around the room. It wasn't just that, it was the plates with technicolour kittens behind her that really got to me. I'd never minded cats, we'd had one once when I was very young, but the plates were very offputting to the point that I almost disliked them.

"Well, have a seat Mr. Hoofer," she told me. "I imagine you're spoiled rotten, but even you can take orders properly, can't you?"

It was so hard not to glare at her. I took a seat at the table she was pointing at, which was covered in the same lace as everywhere else. I wanted so much to tell her that jealousy was a terrible thing, but I didn't say a word. I just walked over and sat down, clenching my teeth. She placed a piece of parchment in front of me and then handed me a long thin black quill.

"You'll write: I will not give cheek," she told me. "You'll write until the last ten minutes of your lunch hour. I'm not an unfair woman of course. I'm giving you enough time to get to class," and she stared down at me as if expecting something. "Well, aren't you going to thank me?" She asked in her high pitched annoying voice.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge," I responded staring down at the parchment, wishing so much that I could pull out my wand to silence her.

"Well, aren't you going to get started?" She asked.

I glanced up at her with confusion.

"I need ink," I pointed out to her.

"Not with that quill my dear," she said.

She continued to watch me. Confused, I quickly wrote the first line on the parchment. The words appeared where I'd written them in red ink. As I did so, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my hand. I let out a loud gasp at the pain, and then I realized exactly what was happening. It wasn't ink that appeared on the paper; it was my blood! I stared up at her; she stood grinning down at me.

For one moment, I wanted to yell at her that what she was doing was wrong. However, I knew that's exactly what she wanted me to do. It was what she expected from a spoiled brat like me. So even though it hurt like hell, I gritted my teeth and wrote the second line, and then continued. As I did this, she turned away and headed over to her desk. I glanced up long enough to glare at her before looking down at the parchment again. She wouldn't be able to get away with this!

* * *

I didn't tell anyone right away what had gone during my detention. Part of me had wanted to run up to my dorm, and demand my parents do something, but I decided against it. It was likely what she wanted me to do. So for days afterward, I kept quiet about it. Instead, I began planning our night trip to Hogsmeade with my cousins, Nick, and Tasha. I loved sitting in her classes knowing that we were going to Hogsmeade right under her nose. I hated her so much, and though it was wrong, I kept hoping she'd have an accident soon. After all, no Defense teacher ever lasted past a year.

"Are you ever going to tell us what happened during your detention with Umbridge?" Tasha asked me the day we planned to go.

"We know you're not telling us everything," Nick added. "I thought we weren't going to have any more secrets."

"I'll tell you tonight," I replied. "I have my reasons for why I haven't said anything. I'm just glad we're doing this," I added the last bit furiously. "And lately, I've been thinking that we should go to a DA meeting. I want to do everything we can to undermine her!"

Nick and Tasha both widened their eyes and then looked at each other. They didn't say anything, they both just looked down. All I knew was that I was excited for that night, and part of me believed it would be worth it if we were caught. The only good thing about my sister dating Darren was that she was too wrapped up in her relationship to care about me. We were able to all get together and plan how we would get through the one-eyed statue later that night without her interference.

Thankfully, all of Brianne's friends were more than happy to help us out. With Chester and Ralph doing patrol as well, we figured we'd get through the statue without a hitch. I was just glad that the first years weren't upset that they couldn't come with us. They were all too scared to break a rule, and they were worried about the Azkaban escapees as well. As we walked through the corridors, Hilda took my hand.

"You'll be careful, won't you Barry?" She asked as she fluttered her eyelashes at me. "I'd be so devastated if something happened to you."

"You're going to be devastated if you don't let go of his hand," Brianne snapped at her.

Hilda rolled her eyes, but she let my hand go.

"Alright, you lot need to make sure you're not acting suspiciously," Garth told them. "You're going to stand on either end of the corridor in case Filch, or even worse, Umbridge comes along. If she asks what you're doing-"

"We already have that planned," Brianne told him. "Don't worry about us. The five of you just worry about yourselves. We have you covered, don't worry."

Chester grinned down at her and then patted her head. "I knew I could count on you little cousin. Once we're gone though, don't hang around too long. It's close to curfew for you, and I'd hate to see you in detention by her."

So did I. If that woman made my little sister cut up her hand, she would be answering to me. I wouldn't let it go, and I didn't care if my hand got cut up in the process. She would not hurt my baby sister. I knew there would come a day when she would regret what she did. That thought was what got me through the days that had followed that detention.

"We'll be fine," Brianne assured him.

"Be sure that you are," I said as we left her at the end of the hallway. "Please."

Brianne just smiled at me as she waited with Hilda and Harriet. The rest of her first-year friends followed us so that they could go to the other end. We paused by the statue as they continued on. The five of us watched them until they were at the end.

"You two remember how we did it last year?" Chester asked. "We'll wait up here just in case," and then he tapped the statue and said: "Dissendium," and then looked at us once the hump was opened. "Go on, hurry!"

We let Tasha go in first before Nick followed, and then I went in afterward.

* * *

Chester and Ralph wanted us to meet them outside Honey Dukes that time, so that's what we did. The three of us stood on the street outside of Honey Dukes shivering. We hadn't brought our winter cloaks as it would look suspicious if we were caught when we returned. I decided to cast a warming charm on us while we waited after a while.

"Do you think they were caught?" Nick asked as he rubbed his hands together. "Last time they didn't take this long."

"I think they wanted to make sure the girls left," I said. "I don't want Brianne in detention with that woman."

"So what happened then?" Tasha asked.

"We'll talk about it when the cousins get here," I said.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait much longer. Chester and Ralph appeared moments later from Honeyduke laughing. Ralph paused to leave a red mark on the door before turning to us.

"Well, let's go on," Ralph said. "Remember, wait until we get there to take the potion."

"We know," Nick said. "So out with it, Barry. What happened during your detention with Umbridge?"

As we began walking to the Hogs Head, I finally told them everything that had gone on in her office that day.

"But that's barbaric!" Tasha exclaimed. "You should tell your parents!"

"Why?" I asked her. "So I can off as a spoiled brat as she said I am?"

"No, but what if she does it to someone else?" Tasha asked. "It's horrible, and she shouldn't get away with it. No wonder you were so moody."

"She's been doing it since the beginning of the school year," Ralph said. "We've heard stories about it from other kids. From what I've heard, it's permanently on the back of Harry Potters hand. I'm not sure what it says, but whatever she made him write is still there."

"She shouldn't be able to get away with that!" Nick snarled. "Can't we all do something about that? She's horrible!"

"It's not still on the back of your hand is it?" Tasha asked me as she reached out to take my right hand.

"No, but it was red for days," I told her as she examined my hand. "If we all complain, the Ministry will probably crackdown harder or something. She's pissed off that Harry did that interview after all."

"She needs to pay for what she did to our cousin, and everyone else," Chester growled. "I've had it with that woman."

"You'll lose your badge if you complain," I told him.

"I don't give a damn about my badge," Chester said. "It's you I'm worried about. This is the final straw. For now, let's just get to the Hogs Head."

He said it so firmly that no one argued, but I didn't see what he could do about it, and the last thing I wanted was for him to lose his badge over it. I regretted telling them anything. I should have kept my mouth shut instead of being a big baby about it. It's what she expected anyway, and now my cousin could get in trouble. I stared at the ground brooding as we went. Once we were outside of the Hogs Head, we each pulled out a vial of the potion, which I'd divided up earlier that day. It would be interesting to see how Tasha would look a few years from now.

Tasha's eyes widened in surprise as she drank hers down. Nick and I did so right after.

"It tastes quite good," she said.

Just as it had last time, it took a few seconds before it worked. I felt myself shoot up, but I'd grown since the last time I'd taken the potion, so my growth spurt wasn't as much last time. Once I was done changing, I took in Tasha's appearance. She'd always been pretty of course, but all I could think of was how hot she would be in a few years. I couldn't believe how gorgeous she eventually would be, mainly since she already was quite pretty.

"Wow!" Ralph said as he looked her up and down.

I glared at him, but he didn't appear to notice. She only grew a couple of more inches, but her face was definitely a lot more mature. I thought she looked even prettier than Glenda was. As I thought about Glenda, I was surprised that I hadn't really given her that much thought over the years. I'd seen her and Lance around, but it no longer affected me. She was just some girl I'd once snogged. I couldn't believe that the last time I'd snuck in had been because of her. She was so insignificant now.

"Well, we'd better hurry in," Nick told us. "We only have an hour remember?"

That took me out of my thoughts, and we hurried in. Chester and Ralph went to order drinks while Nick and I quickly found a table at the back. Tasha went off to the loos. I knew she was going off to check herself out. I wondered if she would like what she saw. I knew I most certainly did.

"Your eyes nearly popped out of your head when you noticed Tasha," Nick said to me. "She does look good. Hard to believe she's going to be that pretty. Not that she isn't now, but she looks like a woman!"

"That's because she is, or she will be at seventeen," I said as I took a seat. "And I'm just surprised that's all. I didn't expect her to be that pretty."

"When are you going to admit you're in love with her?" He asked.

"I'm not in love with her," I responded.

But I wasn't so sure of that anymore, and I didn't want to feel that way. She was my best friend. I couldn't feel that way about her. What if it ruined our friendship? Nick just smirked at me, but thankfully dropped the subject. I really needed to make it my mission to find a new girlfriend. It was too bad Ginny was dating a fifth year in Ravenclaw. There had to be other girls out there, however.

Tasha returned before the cousins did. She wore a massive grin on her face.

"I can't believe this is what I'm going to look like in a few years," she said as she took a seat beside me. "I look so pretty."

"No, you look gorgeous," I said. "Not that you aren't pretty now," I quickly amended.

"I say you're cute now, but you're definitely beautiful when you get older," Nick said. "It's like looking into the future. I love this potion. I bet we could see how we'll look when we're thirty."

"I don't want to think about being thirty," I said with a frown. "That seems like a long time to go."

"Half your life," Chester said as they walked over with some shots of firewhiskey. "We decided against half a bottle this time," he added as I glanced at the shots and then up at him. "Last time you lot threw up. We don't want that this time. I think a few shots are enough and then we'll drink butterbeer. Last thing we need is for Umbridge to catch us drunk."

"Cheers," Ralph said as he lifted up a shot glass.

We each lifted up a shot glass and took a drink. I drank all three of mine rather quickly. The burning liquid felt good as it went down my throat. I looked forward to being drunk, or at least buzzed. Nick copied me, but Tasha took her time with her shots. Once we were done, we began speaking in low voices bad-mouthing Umbridge. The topic turned to Harry's interview, which everyone in the school had read by that point, and it seemed most people believed.

"I think even Gretchen believes," Tasha said. "She just hates to admit she is wrong. I'm just glad the others realize how stupid they've been."

"Now we just need for the Ministry to smarten up," Ralph said. "I worry it's going to be too late. Something big will have to happen for them to have a wakeup call."

"Like You-Know-Who killing someone in the open?" Nick asked.

"Possibly," Ralph answered. "I don't remember much from when he was here the first time, but even back then I remember feeling scared. I think I likely picked it up from mum and dad, Garth and the other kids, but I do remember even being nervous to play outside. He was gone shortly before I turned five, and I remember mum and dad whispering together, and making sure we were only outside during the day. They did kill in the open, however. Right now he must be getting stronger, and they have to be planning when he's going to come out. Whatever it is, it's going to be big. The Ministry is in denial about his being back, and that makes it convenient, but he isn't always going to hide."

"I bet he finds a way to kill Harry or Dumbledore," Chester said. "Either that, or it will be a big pureblood family such as the Weasley's. They're close to Dumbledore and Harry. It will be a bigger blow if they wipe out an entire wizarding family."

I felt nervous when he said. Our family was a bit well known too. What if they went for mum, dad, and Ben? Before I could say anything, Tasha spoke up.

"Or the Hoofers?" Tasha asked.

"I'm not ruling it out, but our family wouldn't be the first one they'd go after," Chester said. "I don't think our connection to Dumbledore is as well known. Now the Weasley's on the other hand is. I just have a bad feeling that it's going to be a family."

I felt chilled because I had a feeling that Chester was right. A family or someone very prominent would be murdered, and that was how You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters would show that they were back.

-  
Things were a bit uneventful after that for a while. People stopped talking about the article as much, but more people believed. I noticed Gretchen was a lot quieter after that. She didn't even seem to want to bother Luna lately. I knew people, especially her, still hid Luna's things but otherwise, she seemed withdrawn. She hadn't even been this quiet after Darren broke up with her.

"I feel like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop," Nick said.

We'd just been discussing Gretchen during dinner. She was sitting with the girls down the table and picking at her food. It was Tasha who brought it up.

"Why, what do you think she is planning?" I asked with confusion.

"No, not Gretchen," Nick said. "Just what we discussed in Hogsmeade and You-Know-Who, and the Ministry. Things have been too quiet, haven't they? I mean not even Umbridge has-"

Whatever he was going to say was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream in the Entrance Hall. Almost simultaneously, people were on their feet. It took a few seconds before we joined them. Everyone was rushing toward the Great Hall doors. There was a bit of a scrimmage at the door before everyone managed to get out. The people who had already gotten out had formed a circle in the Entrance Hall where Professor Trelawney stood in the middle with two large trunks near her. It looked as if they'd been thrown at her as one of them was upside down. She was the one screaming.

I scanned the Entrance Hall as we moved from the Great Hall doors to see who had done this. It took a few seconds before I located Professor Umbridge who had suck a sickening smirk on her face. She was actually enjoying this! Professor Trelawney wasn't my favourite teacher, but it was still horrible to see her that way. From her shrieks, it sounded as if Professor Umbridge had just fired her.

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Professor Umbridge asked in her disgusting sweet voice. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrows weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performances during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

All I wanted to do was hex the hell out of Umbridge. None of my classes had been supervised by her, but I'd heard from Nick that most of the fifth year ones were. In fact, we'd only had Binns be evaluated, but she must not have had any concerns. I would be the first to admit that Trelawney couldn't predict much. However, she knew the subject. Wasn't there that saying; 'those who can't do teach?' so why did it matter if she couldn't even predict what I was going to eat tomorrow? The only thing I didn't like about her was the fact that she enjoyed predicting misfortunes for students. Sure, perhaps Umbridge could have warned her not to do that, but other than that, what basis did she have to fire her?

All I wanted to do was move forward to hug Trelawney who was sobbing, and I could see others felt the same way. Most people wore a horrified expression on their faces. Two fifth year girls were even crying as they hugged each other. The only person who found it funny was Umbridge. Even McGonagall who had no tolerance for the subject was sympathetic toward Trelawney. She was the one to go over to her while she sobbed. She assured her that she wouldn't have to leave after all.

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall," Umbridge said in her infuriating voice as she stepped forward. "And your authority for that statement would be...?"

"That would be mine," a man's voice said, and just as I looked around to see the source of it, the Entrance Hall doors swung open.

There standing in the doorway was Professor Dumbledore. The night behind him was misty, and something about it looked impressive. I wondered if he would be able to overturn her severance. I sure hoped so. I knew one of Umbridge's Decree's stated that she could fire or employ teachers, but surely there had to be a way for Dumbledore to stop this. He left the doorway and walked over to where McGonagall and Trelawney were.

"Yours Professor Dumbledore?" Umbridge asked laughing. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here-" and she pulled out a parchment scroll from her robes "-an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she -that is to say, I- feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

I felt terrible for Trelawney, but Dumbledore was still smiling. Did that mean she was wrong? She was High Inquisitor though. Mum and dad had been warning me about her for a reason. However, he explained that while Umbridge could sack Trelawney, the power on whether or not she continued to reside in the castle was still up to him. I supposed that was a silver lining, but it would be better if she could keep her job. Professor Trelawney told Dumbledore she wanted to leave, but he wouldn't allow it. Moments later, Professor's Sprout and McGonagall escorted Trelawney up the Entrance Hall steps while Flitwick levitated her trunk.

Anyone could see this infuriated Umbridge. I wondered if she'd picked dinner hour on purpose. She'd probably wanted an audience to show she had power, and Dumbledore had just ruined that for her.

"And what are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?" Professor Umbridge whispered though everyone heard every word.

Just as I was wondering if she'd already found someone, Dumbledore spoke up again.

"Oh that won't be a problem," Dumbledore responded. "You see, I've already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found-?" Umbridge began shrilly which caused me to smile. " _You've_ found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-Two-"

"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if- and only if- the Headmaster is unable to find one," Dumbledore interrupted. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

He turned to face the doors. Many people moved forward for a better look. I was sure I could hear hooves. As I thought this, a figure appeared out of the misty night. It was a make centaur who Dumbledore introduced as Firenze. I couldn't help but grin right at Umbridge as soon as he entered the Entrance Hall. If Dumbledore could find anyone, a centaur was his best candidate. I didn't know a lot about centaurs, but I knew they were recognized for their divining skills. I was surprised that he had no problem with leaving his herd to be a teacher, however. They weren't known to help humans out. Around me, girls were gasping about how handsome he was. I couldn't help but wonder how they would think that when he was part horse.

I knew Umbridge wasn't going to let this go though. She'd wanted to show her power over Dumbledore, and right under her nose, he'd already employed another teacher.

* * *

It was all anyone could talk about the days that followed, but we began to worry about Hagrid who was also on probation. From what Nick was saying, Umbridge had something against half-breeds, and he didn't think it would be long before she tried to get rid of him as well. I believed him, she seemed the discriminatory type, and I did have to wonder if he would be next. It would either be him or Snape, who was also on probation. I hoped it would be Snape.

"How are Divination, classes?" Tasha asked me.

"Brilliant," I told her. "They turned the classroom into his natural habitat. It doesn't feel as if we're inside. He wanted us to look around the classroom for oddly shaped twigs. It's supposed to help us predict the future, but I didn't find anything, and neither did Luna. She's usually good at that, but she has a good rapport with him. By the sounds of it, he's been banished from his herd. I'm not too surprised; I wondered how they were taking that."

"Why would they banish him for that? He's helping Dumbledore," Tasha said.

"But the centaurs will see that as him being a servant to humans," Nick said. "They don't think the way we do. They're a completely different being. Their laws are different from ours. I bet if Firenze goes back into the forest, they'll kill him."

We made our way up to the common room. We were planning to practice some spells in the dormitory. Lately, we hadn't been able to do so. Ever since I'd caught Brenda and Darren in the dorms, she'd been following us into them to catch me at something. So when we went up there, we could only study from our books. Brianne had started taking look-out for us, but she had no way to warn us. She would try to stop her, but Brenda caught on to what we were doing. I didn't understand why she wasn't spending as much time with Darren. I hadn't talked to him about it as he tended to avoid any conversation that had to do with her.

"I think we should go to the next DA meeting," Nick told me once he shut the dormitory door behind us. "All I want to do is get back at Umbridge."

"Well, we can't tonight because we have that big Charms test tomorrow," Tasha said. "Flitwick said everything on this test would probably be on our OWLs next year. I say the next meeting we will go though. We'll watch the coins."

"Agreed," I said. "I'll talk to Hermione about it. I'm tired of just trying to learn spells up here knowing that Brenda can get up here at any moment. I hate to say it, but I miss the days when Darren kept her occupied."

"She'd just better not fire Hagrid next," Nick said furiously. "It's bad enough we can't even visit him in the evenings anymore. Now she is trying to get rid of him. I can't believe parents are letting this happen!"

"Well, they're scared Nick," I said.

"I know," Nick responded. "But it's ridiculous."

"Well, let's just focus on these charms," Tasha said. "None of us have been able to get the summoning charm down, and that's probably one of the most useful ones."

"I've got it down," I said. "I've been able to do it since first term when they taught it to us."

"It never goes to you," Nick said with a smirk. "Go on, summon my pillow then."

"Fine," I said, and I pointed my wand at his pillow and said: "Accio Pillow!"

It flew over to me and fell a few feet away.

Nick started to laugh.

"It's supposed to go to _you_ ," he said as I got up to grab it. "Like it's supposed to soar into your hand the way Harry's Firebolt did last year."

"Still better than your attempt," I said. "You try now," and I threw the pillow back onto this bed.

Nick tried next, but it only flew halfway across the room. I began to snigger as Tasha attempted it next. She was the only one who could get it the closest, but even her attempt wasn't that great.

"Fine, we'll practice the summoning charm," I said with a grin.

"I'll make a list that we need to work on tonight," Tasha said. "I bet if we attempted this for our OWLs, we'd fail."

"I think it would be acceptable," I said.

"Acceptable?" Tasha asked.

"Yes, from what I remember what mum said, the passing grades for OWLs are Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding. I don't remember the failings ones though," I answered. "I think one of them might be a P for Poor though. That's how our homework will be graded next year though."

"Hoofer will get all Outstandings," Nick said as he rolled his eyes. He smirked at me.

"Not if he doesn't improve in Charms," Tasha said.

"You just wait until next year," I said smiling. "I'll get all O's, and Nick will get whatever the lowest grade is. He'll have to repeat fifth year."

Nick feigned hurt as he fell back onto the bed.

"Betrayed by my own best friend," he said and began to laugh.

I grabbed the pillow from the ground that Tasha had summoned and hit him with it. As great as it would have been to go to a DA meeting, nothing could ever be as fun as carefree times with friends.

* * *

The next day we found out that we'd made the right decision not to go to the DA meeting. While we were up in the dormitory studying, the DA was getting busted. One of the members, Cho Chang's friend Marietta ratted them out. I didn't find this out right away. When we woke up the next day, it was to find out that they'd been caught. I instantly worried that it would be us who would be accused. Dumbledore had been sacked, and Umbridge had been made the new Headmistress. Apparently, there had been a fight in the Headmasters office.

I didn't know the details, but I sought out Hermione as soon as I could, which wasn't easy. Finally, though, I found on her own that morning, looking quite annoyed.

"It wasn't any of us who told," I assured her right away. "In fact, we were even going to go to a meeting."

"I know it wasn't you," she responded. "You'd have SNEAK on your face for one, but we already know who did it. It was Marietta Edgecombe who did it."

I wasn't all that surprised as soon as she said the name. I didn't know her too well, but I knew of her family, and I'd heard stories. To be honest, I was surprised she'd even been part of the DA in the first place. It seemed like something she would disapprove of, and apparently, she did since she'd gone and told on them all. I couldn't help but ask Hermione how she knew her, and how she'd been invited.

"Cho Chang," Hermione responded. "You know she and Harry date sometimes."

I nodded figuring that made sense. It made me wonder why Cho had chosen Marietta of all people to go. She must have known what she was like. I remembered back when I'd fancied her for a bit, and I wondered why that was.

"I need to go though Barry," Hermione told me. "I'll talk to you later, and I'm glad you didn't go. They have the list of names of who was all there. We got away with it but only because Dumbledore stuck up for us. I'd tell you more about what happened, but I can't at the moment."

I was sure I could figure out what had happened on my own, however. Dumbledore had taken responsibility for the DA so that the kids wouldn't get in trouble, and Umbridge had tried to sack him for it. It was why a fight or whatever had happened in his office had taken place, and he'd managed to escape. It was hard to know exactly what had gone on however as there were so many rumours going around the castle on what had happened.

My greatest shock that morning wasn't the fact that Dumbledore was gone though. It wasn't until later on when Tasha, Nick, and I were in the corridors and talking when we were approached by Brenda. We'd heard earlier in the day that Umbridge had employed some students as her Inquisitorial Squad. They basically had the right to put people in detention or to take points away. In other words, they were rats for Umbridge. I'd heard they were mainly Slytherin students, so imagine my surprise when Brenda approached us wearing a massive smirk on her face.

"Well, it looks like you're going to have to keep in line from now on," she told me as she tapped the small badge on the front of her robes. "I am a Junior Inquisitorial Squad member."

I stared at her in disbelief. Of all the things she could have done, she'd actually joined ranks with Umbridge. For the first time when it came to my little sister, I was completely speechless. I couldn't even yell at her for trying to sell her family out. All I could was gape at her as she smirked at us.

"Brenda," Nick said. "You realize what she is asking of you?"

"Yes of course," she said. "But she also told me that I am in line to be a prefect. If I take my duties seriously this year, I may even get promoted to a full Inquisitorial Squad member next year! That's a big deal for a fourth year! If you took things seriously, you would join as well. I know how much you want to be made prefect next year, Barry. Being a member means someday I'll be prefect, and then Head Girl. She'll even help me get a job in the Ministry. I'm thinking of my future, and if you don't watch it, I may even let slip how you've snuck into Hogsmeade."

"So, what exactly are your duties?" Tasha whispered looking horrified. "You're a junior member, so you can't take points or-"

"Not yet, but I can put in recommendations for people who should be put in detention, or have points taken away," Brenda responded. "And I'm not afraid to take points from Ravenclaw."

"But you'd be willing to sell out your own brother and sister," I responded in a low voice. "Brenda, I don't think you realize exactly what she is asking of you."

"I'm not stupid. I know exactly what I'm being asked to do, and if you and Brianne were smart, you'd join as well. Umbridge is our new Headmistress. She is the one we need to listen to now, and right now, it's so important we do. You-Know-Who is out there, and we can't afford to turn our back on the Ministry!" Brenda responded, her face turning red now.

"The Ministry is ignoring You-Know-Who you daft bitch!" Tasha retorted. "Umbridge is here to shut people up about him, and you're playing right into her hands!"

"Well, it looks as if you're going to have a detention," Brenda said. "I'm sure Umbridge will side with me. If you don't believe I am willing to do so, talk to Darren. I had to put my own boyfriend in detention earlier, and I will do the same to my brother and his friends."

And she turned on her heel and walked off. I stared after her feeling dread. I'd been worried for months that she would pull a Percy Weasley, and my fears were finally realized. She was turning against her family in favour of the Ministry. I looked back at Tasha and Nick who looked just as horrified as I felt.


	33. Fourth Year Part Nine

At lunch, we all sat together with the other fourth years to discuss the night before, and the new Inquisitorial Squad. I was still in shock that Brenda was apart of it, and I planned to write to mum and dad as soon as lunch was over. They had to put a stop to this! She couldn't seriously be considering on ratting out her friends and family!

"Hoofer, you're going to hate me for this," Darren told me. "But I have to break up with your sister. I can't stay with someone who is willing to betray me or everyone else."

Under normal circumstances, I would be pissed off, but I didn't blame him at all. I told him this as I gazed down the table to look for her. She was sitting on her own and picking at her lunch. Kendra wasn't sitting with her for once. I located her sitting with the rest of the third years. They were talking in low voices, and some were even shooting annoyed glances down the table at her. I wondered if she was the only one outside of Slytherin that was part of the Squad. I doubted it, but they were likely a minority.

"Do what you have to do," I told him. "I don't care what happens to her right now. Just when I thought she couldn't shock me anymore, she has."

I was about to eat some soup when there was a sudden loud boom. It was so loud that it caused all the plates on all five tables to rattle. Across from me, Phillip began choking on his own soup causing Ivan to smack his back. We all looked up, likely all wondering what was going on now? Had the Death Eaters found a way to break into the grounds? Were they actually attacking a school full of kids? The teachers were all on their feet at the teacher's table, but I didn't see Umbridge around anywhere. Was she doing something to one of the teachers?

Everyone began exiting the Great Hall quickly, just as they had the night when Trelawney had been sacked. However, as soon as we reached the Entrance Hall, it was apparent what the source had been, and it was nothing evil. Someone (and I wondered if it was the Weasley twins) had set off fireworks somewhere in the castle. They were some dragons floating around in the Entrance Hall. Around me, people burst into laughter. I looked around to see Brenda with her arms folded, looking disapproving. However, as I stared at her, I thought she looked amused as well. It was as if she was trying to hide it, so she pretended to disapprove of what had happened.

Throughout the day, the fireworks made their way around the castle. Umbridge had to spend her first day as Headmistress running around the school, and trying to get rid of the fireworks. We were supposed to have Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, but she had to keep leaving the classroom to the summons of other teachers who couldn't get rid of them on their own. We all knew that if they really wanted to, they could.

"This day went from really bad to awesome," Nick said laughing later on as we made our way to the Great Hall to dinner. "I wonder who did it."

"Likely the Weasley's," I said. "They're trying to start up a joke shop aren't they? Those aren't Zonko fireworks."

"You mean, they created those fireworks?" Tasha asked in awe. "They're remarkable though. I thought they'd just bought them from somewhere!"

"They've made some really neat things so far," Phillip said. "Their Skiving Snackboxes have gotten me out of a few classes so far."

"Keep your voice down," I warned him as I glanced toward Brenda who wasn't sitting too far from us. "Wait until we're in the common room."

Though I'd never considered trying a Snackbox before, I wanted to buy some now. Not just to annoy Brenda, but to annoy Umbridge as well. I just wondered if Tasha would be against it. At times she was perfectly okay with breaking the rules, but other times she wasn't. We waited until we were done dinner, and then we all went up the boy's dormitory, including the other girls where we locked the door. We just had to hope that Brenda wouldn't try and listen with an extendable ear. She'd done that in the past, but we decided to keep a close eye on the door in case she tried to surprise as she'd done in the past.

"I think we should do it," Tasha said as soon as I brought up the Skiving Snackboxes. "Maybe we could use them to start missing Umbridge's classes or something."

"Yes for sure," Philip agreed. "But we need them for other things as well. And we need to find out what else they're selling. I admit I ignored them at first because I didn't believe anything about You-Know-Who. We need to find one of those flyers they used to hand out though. Does anyone here have one?"

I shook my head.

"I had no interest because I didn't want to get in trouble," I said. "I didn't want to do anything that could ruin my chances for that prefect badge."

"But you're willing now?" Ivan asked me, and I nodded.

"And if all of us do it then she can't use it against us," I said. "One of us has to be a prefect. Are we all in?"

I asked this, but mostly everyone was staring at Gretchen. It was hard to tell what she thought after all. She seemed to notice we were all looking at her because she rolled her eyes.

"I'm in," she said. "I hate Umbridge as much as the rest of you do. And- well, yes, I admit I was wrong about Harry Potter. I know you lot have been waiting for me to say it. I just- well, you all know I hate to be wrong. I'm not going to betray any of you though. Whatever we plan to do, I am in."

"Then we need to do this properly," Nick said. "It's going to look rather suspicious if every fourth year Ravenclaw buys things from the Weasley twins at the same time. We need a plan when we're going to do it. We should just go in our groups of friends on different days. Umbridge is going down."

I think it was the first time all of us were united. Even back in the days when we'd all been scared we hadn't been this united. Though Luna usually had a dreamy expression on her face, she looked as determined as the rest of us. I didn't know who was all in the DA, but Tasha had told me that morning that Luna had been. She was likely quite upset that her group had been found out. Despite her indifference to being alone most of the time, I had a feeling that all Luna wanted was to belong, and Umbridge had taken that away from her. Now we were all in this together, and I didn't think it would be just us discussing this. Chances are, the Weasley's would have more sales in the days that followed.

* * *

We didn't make too many plans after that as the Easter holidays started. All the boys except Nick were staying, so they told us they'd try to get a good supply of joke items while we were off. Brianne and I planned to complain to mum and dad about Brenda as soon as we got home. They had to do something about her. They couldn't let her stay on the Squad. Brenda was staying at school so for the first time in memory; I'd be at home while she wasn't. It was going to seem so strange, but I was sure it would be really relaxing. Tasha was coming home with us as well. I'd convinced her to.

As soon as we arrived home, Brianne and I began a long list of complaints about Brenda while Tasha and Ben sat on the couch talking. Umbridge had given Tasha the detention, and she'd ended up having the back of her hand cut open. It would be a very long time before I forgave Brenda for that one.

"Mum, you have to put a stop to her!" Brianne protested. "She's doing whatever it takes to get me in trouble! I bet she only took that job so that she could go after me and Barry!"

"For now, just try to behave around her," mum responded.

"You're fine with her ratting us out?" I asked in shock.

I'd expected them to be in complete outrage about what she was doing.

"Absolutely not," dad replied. "But _think_ about it, please. You know what Brenda is like. If we tell her to quit now, she may give Umbridge the impression that we are against the Ministry. It's all going to come out eventually, but right now, they're looking for anyone who may be a traitor to the Ministry. If I lose my job-"

"So we have to put up with her?" Brianne interrupted. "Can't you do it in a way, so it doesn't look like you're against the Ministry?"

I knew they couldn't though. If mum and dad wrote and told Brenda that she couldn't be on the Squad, she would twist it. She would tell Umbridge that mum and dad were against the Ministry just to be spiteful. It was the way she was, it was usually getting revenge first, before she really thought about the consequences of her actions. She would typically feel guilty after she came to her senses, but she the type to act first and think later. I found it kind of sad that even my own parents were scared of what she was capable of.

"Don't you think it's bad that you two are even scared of her?" I asked them.

"We'll talk to her in the summer," dad told me. "For now, I just want you and your sister to do your school work. I know you want to do what you can to undermine Umbridge, but you need to behave for yours and our sake."

"And what if Brenda keeps trying to put me in detention?" Brianne asked.

"We'll write to her tonight," mum said. "We'll tell her that she was given a position of authority, but she shouldn't abuse it. We'll remind her that she cannot do that once she is a prefect. Just do your best not to aggravate your sister.

Brianne and I just exchanged glances. Mum and dad were scared of their own daughter. That was all there was to it, and it was so annoying. I'd expected to come home and have them solve everything for us. However, their advice was that we just behave. They weren't going to stop her because they were too afraid to. For the first time, I felt helpless against her.

* * *

Nick spent most of his time at home with little Noah, but there were times when he would come over as well. One afternoon, we found Tasha sobbing in my bedroom. The two of us had been playing with Ben while she'd been spending some girl time with Brianne. Nick and I exchanged glances before rushing over to her. What could be wrong? She'd seemed so happy lately, so it was quite a surprise to find her sobbing.

"I think I should drop out of Hogwarts," she finally said once we tried to calm her down.

"What do you mean?" I asked with horror.

Had Brenda written something mean to her? Had someone been making fun of her because of her blood status? Why would she suddenly decide that she didn't want to be at Hogwarts anymore?

"Are you scared you're going to die? We'll do more to protect you," Nick said looking just as upset as I felt.

"No," she responded, and she held a piece of paper that only muggles used.

I hadn't noticed she was holding it before, but I was assuming it was something from her parents. It made sense why she was crying. Letters from her parents usually did, though a lot of the time she tried to hide it. Nick took it and then shook his head before handing it over to me. I skimmed it quickly. It was rather short, but I could see why it upset her.

 _Please stop writing home to us. We see you in the Summer, and that is it._

"Tasha-" I began.

"I just want them to love me!" She sobbed. "I wrote home a long letter telling them how I feel. It's just with You-Know-Who being back; I've been thinking about old times more than ever. I told them how much I love them and how much I miss the way we used to be. I am so scared that one of us will be killed and we'll never make up. That's all they sent back! I just want them to love me, and so I think it's best if I drop out. They will never love me if I'm a witch. If I just go back to being a muggle, they'll love me again."

I stared at her feeling as if I could cry myself, and it usually took a lot to make me cry. I couldn't lose her. She was one of my best friends, and I couldn't imagine my life without her now. Ever since the first day on the train, I'd wanted her around, and I couldn't imagine Hogwarts or my life without her.

"No," I said. "You can't. You need to stay with us."

"I need my parents to love me," she said. "You two don't understand because your parents love you always. Mine don't. I just want us to be close again."

"Tasha," Nick said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, something he often did when he was frustrated. "Listen to me. You will never be close the way you used to be. I'm sorry to tell you that, but it's the truth. If you drop out right now, you will feel resentment for them for taking this all away."

"And dropping out doesn't guarantee that they will love you again," I said. "You'll go home, and you'll be nearly four years behind on muggle education. They've-they've likely already made up their mind about you. They probably did almost four years ago! I'm not just saying this because I want you in my life, but because I think it's the truth!"

"Same," Nick said quickly. "If I thought that you dropping out would solve your problem, I'd tell you to go for it. It would be awful for us not to have you around anymore, but I'd do anything to see you happy. It won't help, Tasha."

Tasha began sobbing even harder. I sat down beside her and hugged her. I gritted my teeth as I felt emotional myself. I hated what these people were doing to my best friend. I also agreed with Nick. If I knew that her leaving would make her parents love her, I'd tell her to leave. I'd tell my parents right at that moment to take her home so she could begin her new life with loving parents. However, I knew better. They would still see her as their magical child whom they didn't want. Tasha would see them as the parents who stopped her from getting her magical education. She loved it at Hogwarts, and she wanted to be a witch. If she left now, she would regret it.

"So what do I do?" She finally asked as she pulled away from me. "I want them to love me. I was hoping my letter would convince them, but it didn't! They still don't want me, and I know you two are right. They won't love me anyway, and I hate it! I'm tired of not being wanted at home. They used to love me so much that they were overprotective. I remember the year before Hogwarts, how frustrating it was. All I wanted was my independence, but they wouldn't let me have it. Now I'd give anything for them to hold my hand as we cross the street. I'd give anything to beg them just to let me walk down the street by myself! They don't care though."

"Get your magical education and let them live with the fact that they are missing out on an amazing kid," Nick told her.

"But it's not that easy, and maybe I am not amazing," Tasha said. "If I were amazing than my parents would still love me!"

"Your parents are ignorant," I told her. "You're not the problem. They are. Look at Brenda for example! She is completely in the wrong right now, and she willing to betray all of us, even my mum and dad so that she can get a prefect badge! I know that my mum and dad will never stop loving her though. I know they are both disappointed in her, but they love her."

"Or Percy Weasley," Nick said. "I haven't talked to Ginny Weasley too much, but she told me that Percy sent his Christmas gift back! His parents _still_ love him even though he walked out on the family. All you did was have magical blood."

Tasha began wiping at her face.

"I know what you're both saying is true, but it's still hard. I try so hard every day not to feel upset about it. I try just to be happy and enjoy life, but then I'll think of my mum and dad and I just can't! I don't understand how you go from loving your kid to not loving them. I love them even though they ignore me, so why can't they love me? I never did anything wrong!"

And then she began to weep again. All I wanted to do was leave the room and ask mum or dad to take me to Tasha's home. I wanted to knock on their door and talk some sense into them! If my mum and dad could still love Brenda after all the things she'd done, why couldn't her parents love her? How did you just turn off love for your kid? How could they be that cold-hearted? I knew that there were plenty of parents out there who didn't want their kids, and it annoyed me so much. Why bother having kids if you could just stop loving them? I bet I could do something really, really awful and mum and dad would still love me. I bet if I decided I wanted to be a Death Eater, they would still love me even though they shouldn't.

"They're just ignorant, and one day they will look back, and they will realize that!" Nick said angrily. "But please don't go, Tasha. Stay with us at Hogwarts."

"You'll always have a home with my family," I added.

"And mine. I mean, I know you two haven't actually ever been over, but you're always welcome," Nick said as he sat down on her other side.

"Thank you," Tasha said, and thankfully she finished weeping.

She reached out to put her arms around both of us. I just hoped this would be the last we'd hear of her dropping out of school, especially so close to OWLs. I wasn't sure how the muggle school system worked, but I knew they had important examinations as well. She'd be way behind on the muggle ones, and I thought she should have at least been in secondary school by this point. Dropping out now would just ruin her education for both.

"Why haven't we ever been to your place?" Tasha suddenly asked.

"My parents," Nick answered. "Maybe now it would be okay now that mum is home. Before they didn't even really like leaving me home alone and they work so much. They don't want three kids home alone. Maybe I could ask for you lot to stay for a weekend this summer though. You'll get to meet Noah."

"And yet they're okay with you being alone at my house?" I asked smiling. "Mum is home now, but she wasn't before this year."

"You have so many protective spells on your place though," Nick responded shrugging. "You even have safety spells inside apparently. We can't really burn the house down. Mum told me that if for example, Ben fell down the steps, it wouldn't hurt."

I nodded forgetting all about that. They'd always been in place, so I'd never given it a second thought. In fact, I'd assumed all wizarding homes had them. Most of the time, accidental magic helped when someone was in danger, but we had spells in place as well. My parents really hadn't had a choice when it came to having four small children around. I remembered once when Brianne almost fell into the pool when she was about three, she'd bounced across the water surface, and she'd landed on the other side. I wasn't sure if we had them in the Quidditch pitch though since mum and dad were always concerned about us flying too high.

"Bet Hoofer here will feel cluster phobic in my home though," Nick joked. "It's certainly not the size of this place. My living-room is smaller than this bedroom."

"Same with mine," Tasha said with a smile. My living-room is smaller than Ben's room. My bedroom is probably half the size of it."

I worried she would get upset again as she described her home, but she continued to smile.

"Have you actually been in a house that isn't a mansion?" Nick asked me. "From what you've told us, you've visited your cousin's homes, and that's it."

I shook my head. I'd never given it much thought before, but I hadn't ever been in small homes before. I'd seen them of course, but I'd never been inside one.

"You're in for a wakeup call if we ever get a flat," Tasha told me. "Most flats are smaller than your room too."

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when we do," Nick laughed. "Spoiled rich boy."

I reached back to grab a textbook that Tasha had left on the bed. I grabbed it and then raised it to pretend to throw at Nick who quickly moved away and covered his face with his arms.

"Seriously mate? You're going to hurt me over that?" But he was laughing.

Tasha was giggling as well, and I was glad to see the smile on her face again. I hated to see her sad. It was nice to see a smile on her face again. I just hoped she'd be able to deal with her parent's rejection. All I knew was I actually hated them more than Umbridge, and that was saying something. How dare they reject my wonderful, beautiful best friend.

* * *

Tasha thankfully seemed cheered up for the rest of the holidays. I mentioned it to my mum and dad, and I think they were determined to spoil her. I wondered if they said something to Brianna and Ben because neither really wanted to leave her side. We had a Monopoly tournament one night which Brianne ended up winning. I was just glad that we could have some carefree days when the world was going downhill. Who knew what would happen when You-Know-Who came out into the open? I wondered if that was why my siblings seemed determined to have fun as well. All I knew was that every day was relaxing, and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that Brenda wasn't home.

When we went back to school, I thought that all four of us were a lot more relaxed than we had been before we'd left. All Nick could do was talk about how fun Noah was even though he was barely a few months old, and Tasha spoke about how much fun it was with my siblings. Brianne had gone off to find her friends, but she too wore a smile, and it made me think it was because, for a couple of weeks, we didn't have to be around Brenda or Umbridge. Mum and dad had made sure to make us feel as carefree as possible.

When we entered the common room, later on, it was to find the fourth year boys sitting together, so we went straight over to them to see if anything had happened while we were away.

"Nah, it's been rather quite," Philip said once we were seated. "Even your sister has been keeping to herself."

"I think it's because I broke up with her," Darren spoke up. "All she has done is hide in her dorm. I notice she doesn't even really talk to Kendra much. Again, I hope you don't hate me mate, but she put me in detention. She was threatening to do it again, and she was going to do it to this lot as well."

"I know," I answered. "I'm not angry with you. I can't blame you for doing it. I'd do the same if my girlfriend were part of the Squad. Mum and dad wrote to her, but they had to be careful. They're worried if they tell her to quit, she'll twist it to make it look as if they're Ministry haters."

"But would she really go that far?" Ivan asked.

"We don't know for sure," I replied. "But she can be very spiteful, and I could see her thinking mum and dad are against her. She'd regret it later on of course, but Brenda is the in the moment kind of person. She acts without thinking."

"But she doesn't seem to be spying as much," Philip said.

"Probably because Brianne and Barry weren't at school," Nick said.

"Maybe, but I don't think it's just you two. She has ratted other people out," Philip said. "Maybe she is even changing her mind about it. All I know is that things were very quiet around here. None of the Inquisitor Squad have done anything, neither have the Weasley's or Umbridge. Marietta still has those pimples on her face. I don't think anyone can get rid of them. I don't know... I just feel like something is going to happen. It's too quiet."

"Well, the Weasley twins have their NEWTs and Potter, and Weasley have their OWLs. They're probably keeping to themselves because of that," Nick said. "People are usually respectful this time of year. I mean, even Umbridge has to try and look good," Nick said. "But I do still think You-Know-Who is going to do something. Something always happens around this time of year. You'd think he'd do it now before Potter does his OWLs. Why is he letting him get educated? The more he learns, the more magic he can use to defeat him."

"Maybe he wants a worthy opponent," Kevin said. "I know he murdered innocent people in the past, but maybe he is hoping to have a strong wizard to fight."

"Not likely," Ivan said. "Why did he fight Harry last year then? If anything, he's probably not acting Potter has too much protection. He can't exactly attack Hogwarts. He can only attack him in the summer I bet, and look how well that worked last year. It was probably him who sent those Dementors."

I nodded agreeing with Ivan. It was likely because it was too hard to get a hold of Harry. I too thought it was kind of odd that he always waited until the end of the school year to attack Harry. He was probably planning something to hurt him, and Nick was probably right. It would probably be soon.

* * *

It wasn't just the fifth and seventh years who were buckling down and studying. Once the summer term started, the rest of us began to worry as well. Though we weren't exactly on speaking terms, Brenda came around that morning to hand out her usual study timetables. As angry with her as I was, I appreciated them. She was one of the best people at it, so I accepted gratefully and so did Tasha and Nick. I watched as she made her way down to the first years to give Brianne and her friends some as well. I expected Brianne not to take hers, but she took it happily along with her friends.

"It's amazing how she can be such a nightmare, but she is also thoughtful," Chester said as he joined us with his own timetable. "She still thinks of all of us even though she is doing the worst thing imaginable."

"Because in her mind she is doing the right thing," I said as I skimmed over the timetable.

She'd given us a couple of nights off a week, though some of that would likely be used for Homework.

"I hate to defend her at the moment," I said as I set it down to eat breakfast. "But in her mind, she isn't in the wrong. She's doing the right thing, so of course, she is still watching out for us."

"I know," Chester said. "I do hope she comes to her senses. She's making quite a few enemies as it is. Some people aren't going to forgive her for this. Anyway, I've got to get going. We need to spend time together this term though, little cousin. It's our last term here together."

That seemed odd to me as they'd always been there. I was going to miss both him and Ralph. I wondered if my siblings would feel the same way when I was in seventh year. It still seemed so far away to me though.

Most of that day was quite uneventful. The teachers were thinking the same way we were. Now that it was the final term, they were talking about our final exams and what we would need to learn between then and now, and what we had to revise. To me, it seemed a lot more than the first three years combined. We'd been given a lot over the Easter holidays, and now it seemed even more.

Nick and I were complaining about this as we headed down the corridors later that day.

"We're not even taking OWLs yet!" He whined. "Why are they drowning us in homework already?"

"I don't-" I began to say, but just as I was talking, there was a loud bang.

One moment, we were walking down a dry corridor with our classmates while we talked, and the next, we were suddenly covered in some kind of smelly substance. Around us, girls were screaming, and I could feel Tasha pulling on my hand though I couldn't really see. I just allowed her to guide me, unsure of why I was running. Around me, I could hear fast footsteps and screaming as people ran around us. I wiped as my face as I ran, wondering what the stuff was. Was it the Weasley's behind it?

Finally, we made a turn, and went up some stairs. There was a lot of pushing and shoving as we made our way up it. At the top, I was finally able to turn and look though people pushed around me. It looked like water and mud, and a lot of it.

"I think it's a swamp," Nick said as he began wiping himself off.

"The Weasley's?" I asked him, and he shrugged.

"I saw them running," Tasha said. "I don't know if they were part of the crowd or not. Let's go this way; people are going down to the Entrance Hall, I think."

We let her lead us, still discussing what it could be. I believed it had to be the Weasley's, and it was probably a prank. I thought it was brilliant that they'd managed to turn a corridor into a swamp. We made our way back down, and headed to the Entrance Hall. It seemed to be the right place to be because it was where everyone was going, including the Weasley's, and Umbridge. We joined the edge of the crowd where some other people, including Brianne and her friends, were covered in the same substance.

"So-" Umbridge was saying. "So- you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp?"

So it was a swamp, and it had been them behind it. I couldn't help but grin and give them the thumbs up though they didn't know who I was.

"Pretty amusing, yeah," one of the twins told her.

Filch suddenly appeared, and for the first time since meeting him, he was very happy. Most of the time he was a bitter man who hated the students. He seemed almost to be laughing. For one second, I wondered why but I learned quickly it was because he was excited because he was going to whip the twins! I'd thought she was going too far with the quill, but she was actually going to let Filch whip the twins! There was no way she could get away with it with this many witnesses. She didn't seem to care about all of us watching; maybe she was glad we all were. She probably wanted to make an example of them.

The twins, however, surprised us all. After she told them that they were going to learn what would happen when they disobeyed, the twins disagreed with her. Simultaneously, the boys summoned their broomsticks. Just as I was hoping it would work, there was a loud crash, and then their brooms appeared though one was dragging a heavy chain behind it. It clattered on the ground once it reached them.

"We won't be seeing you," one of the twins said as he climbed on his broom.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," the other said.

The first twin looked around at all of us students who were watching them.

"If anyone fancies buying a portable swamp as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley- Weasley's Wizarding Weasleys! Our new premises!" He called out to all of us.

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat!" The other twin shouted.

Moments later they kicked off, and Umbridge yelled for her Filch and Inquisitor Squad to stop them. I gazed around looking for Brenda. Though she was still wearing her badge, I couldn't help but notice that she didn't move to stop them. She stood back, and I thought there was redemption for her after all. As I looked closer, I noticed as well that she wore a massive smirk on her face. The iron peg that had held their brooms chained up was swinging, so no one could get too close.

Peeves the Poltergeist was watching as well. He surprised me the next second when one of the twins looked right at him.

"Give her hell from us Peeves," he said.

And Peeves took off his belled hat and saluted the twins. He'd never taken orders from students before, at least not in four years I'd been there. The twins turned just as we all began applauding and cheering them on and left the Entrance Hall, and out the front doors where the sun was setting. As they exited, people chased after them, still cheering. Though there were many people around us as we followed, I could see Brenda cheering as well. I caught Ralph's eye who was cheering from the front. He winked at me as we all followed the twins outside.


	34. End of Fourth Year

For days afterward, all we could talk about was the Weasley's departure. Around us, many people were talking about wanting to do the same thing. I wished I could as well though I didn't admit this to even Tasha and Nick. Sometimes at night, as I falling asleep I would think about flying out while everyone cheered me on. People would know me as well as they knew the Weasley's, and they would go on about how impressive that Barry Hoofer actually had the guts to fly off as well.

Of course, I knew I could never do such a thing even though I hated Umbridge. I just wished that I would have bought some Skiving Snackboxes in time, but unfortunately, the three of us hadn't had enough time before the Easter break to buy some.

"Don't worry," Philip said when Nick lamented about this. "We've got you covered. We did buy several of them, and all three kinds. We've got enough for all of us fourth year Ravenclaw's. It will be worth it."

"I'll pay you back," I told Philip but he just shrugged.

We decided to try the puking pustilles for the first Defense class we had. We all sat down at our usual desks, and then waited for her to enter the classroom. We waited for her back to be turned before we all took them. It wasn't a bad taste, I decided as chewed on the end that was supposed to make me throw up. She turned around to tell us to read the next chapter in our Defense text. However, she was only halfway through what she was saying when Gretchen was the first to puke. It was only seconds later before the rest of us joined in. She let out a loud noise of disgust as we all began throwing up all over our desks.

We all got up at the same time, all still throwing up as we left. I would have vomited without taking one of them because there was a trail of puke leaving the classroom as we all left. It was the most disgusting sight, and it was a horrible smell. The puke puddles followed us right to the outside of the classroom where we could take the other half. Laughing, we all took off hearing the shrieks of disgust behind us in the classroom. I wondered how long it would take for her to clean it all up. I knew I needed to changed as soon as possible, and perhaps shower. There was puke all down the front of my robes.

"This is so disgusting, but funny," Tasha said as we made our way up to Ravenclaw tower.

"Next class we'll use the Nosebleed Nougats," Ivan said. "Or maybe Fever Fudge."

It turned out that we weren't the only ones to take them in class. Several classes of students had the same idea, and she tried to put us all in detention, but she wasn't able to figure out how we were all getting sick. So she wasn't able to put us all in detention after that. Meanwhile, plenty of people wanted to pull pranks the way Fred and George had. I knew Brianne was part of some of them. Apparently every single first year, even the Slytherin's had dropped dungbombs in the corridor outside of her office. Many others were pulling the same stunt, so many of us had to use the bubblehead charm to get to classes.

Filch was given the task of getting students across the swamp which Umbridge couldn't get rid of. I was sure teachers like Flitwick could have gotten rid of it easily, but all the teachers except Filch were on our side. None of them were punishing students for pulling pranks, which was a relief for me. I knew I could join in with the others without worrying about losing my chance at being a prefect in a year.

Nick, Tasha, and I decided to get directions from the other boys to the Kitchens to get some molasses. When I got down there, I was actually disappointed that we hadn't ever been there before. The House Elves were more than happy to give us food, and I thought it would be great to make future visits when I was hungry. I wished I'd known that when Umbridge had made me miss my lunch hour for detention. I just wondered how Hermione would feel knowing that we were taken advantage of them. Though she hadn't said anything to me about SPEW in a long time, Ginny had told us months that she was still trying to help out the House Elves.

Once we got the molasses, each carrying two jugs of it, we headed up to Umbridges office. Thankfully, no one was around. Outside of her office, the three of us poured it directly on the floor. Nick decided to cover the doorknob in the stuff as well.

"We'd better go," Tasha said. "She could come back at anytime."

She'd had to fit a new door since her old office door had to broomstick holes in it. Nick and I exchanged looks and then nodded. Who knew if she put security charms on it, so after we were sure there was enough there, we took off. Laughing, we ran all the way up to the Ravenclaw tower. I just hoped we would hear about our molasses stunt from others later on.

Peeves had taken their order seriously. I wasn't sure if it was because he enjoyed chaos or not, but he was doing whatever he could to make Umbridge miserable. He flew around the halls, knocking things over, smashing things, popping out of blackboards, toppling piles of parchment over into fires or windoes, he apparently even juggled burning torches over a bunch of people's heads. One morning, he dropped a bag of tarantula's during breakfast in the Great Hall, and there was so much more, including shutting Mrs. Norris inside of a suit of armour. Umbridge spent her days running around trying to stop him or all the students from causing trouble.

I did hear people talking about our molasses trick which caused me to grin. She'd apparently been stuck, and it had been hard to clean up even with her wand. I did wonder why she never moved into Dumbledore's office considering all the mayhem. Someone even put a niffler in her office, and they loved shiny things. It destroyed her office and then attacked her when she entered.

And finally, Brenda came to her senses though I did wonder if it was because people kept attacking her, and other members of the Inquisitorial Squad. She came to us right before the final Quidditch match to apologize. I was taking the time to study with Tasha but Nick was joining Brianne and her friends to watch. We were all gathered around our usual table when she approached us slowly. None of us had spoken to her since she'd given us our timetables, so it was a bit of a surprise to see her join us. Brianne glanced at her and then looked away with an annoyed expression. I knew out of everyone, it was Brianne that Brenda was trying to get in trouble the most. In fact, she'd left me and the other fourth years alone.

"I just wanted to apologize," Brenda said as she sat down with us. "And I am turning in my badge later. I just thought it was the right thing and I was scared to go against her. I don't agree with anything that she is doing, and- well, she did promise me that I could be a prefect in fifth year. I just felt like it would be really stupid to against her. I was very wrong though, and I am sorry I tried to get all of you in detentions."

"You bothered me the most," Brianne said folding her arms angrily. "You tried to get me in detention for having my _shoelaces_ untied Brenda! You had the points I had earned in McGonagall's class taken away for being a second outside of curfew! A second Brenda! I'm glad you've realized that you were being dumb, but it's going to be a while before I can forgive you," and then she turned to Nick and held out her arm to him. "Let's go to that Quidditch match Nick!"

The other first years glared at Brenda as well before they followed, leaving just Tasha, Brenda, and me alone.

"You owe Tasha an apology as well," I told her. "You had her hand cut open!"

"She called me a bitch!" Brenda said. "I find it ironic that you defend your friend over me!"

"Because you were being a bitch!" I said angrily. "That is your entire fault! You joined the Squad and you tried to put us in detention!"

"She's right," Tasha spoke up. "And I am sorry I called you that. I should not have resorted to name calling. I've been regretting that."

"And I am sorry I put you in detention," Brenda said. "I shouldn't have and I only did it because I figured you lot would call me out. I didn't want to say I would do it but not do it."

"Tasha got her hand cut up so you could prove a point?" I demanded.

Though it was wrong either way, I would have accepted it if she'd done it because Tasha had called her a bitch. She hadn't though. She'd done it just so she could prove a point and that made me angry. I just shook my head as I stared at my sister. She hadn't been put in detention yet. She didn't know what it was like to have her hand cut up over and over again and to have to write in her own blood. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and she'd done it to Tasha just to prove a point.

"Brenda, you have no idea how awful the detention really is!" I said angrily. "You hear about it and it sounds messed up, but to actually have your hand cut up like that? You did it just so we knew you were serious, and that is so wrong! I don't know if I can forgive you for a long time, even if you know now it's wrong!"

"I know," Brenda said and for the first time, I saw she had tears in her eyes. "I know it was wrong. I've known it for a while. I never seem to get things right! I felt that following her was the right thing to do so that she wouldn't suspect us. I felt that if I even ratted out my own boyfriend that she'd see that I wasn't against the Ministry."

"And I can forgive you for that part even if you were so wrong," I told her angrily. "I get you were scared, but you know what? Even mum and dad were scared of what you'd do. Brianne and I begged mum and dad to stop you from being on that Squad but they didn't! Dad was scared you'd see it as him against you, and you'd be spiteful enough to ruin his career!"

Brenda's mouth opened and she looked completely shocked and horrified.

"I could never-" she began.

"But we don't know that Brenda! We don't know what you would do! That's the scary thing. We aren't sure of what you're capable of when you want to do something out of spite! You've been trying for weeks to get your own little sister in detention! Brianne would have had her hand cut up if you'd succeeded! This isn't just a simple detention! It's her writing something over and over in her own damn blood!" I yelled. "She's twelve-years-old, and you wanted to do that to her!"

Brenda looked away as the tears began running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

"I know," I told her. "We all know because you're always sorry, but you always pull this kind of thing. This is the worst thing you've done so far! How do we know that someday you won't try to sell us out to You-Know-Who to protect yourself!"

"Are you serious!" Brenda yelled back. "All of us this was to protect all of you and so I could be prefect! It was wrong of me, but that's what I was doing! I would never-"

"And what if you had to become a Death Eater to be a prefect?" I snarled. "Is that badge so important to you that-"

"Of course not!" Brenda yelled. "I would never! I can't believe you'd even accuse me Barry!"

"Well, we thought you'd never join ranks with Umbridge and yet you did," I stated.

"You're such a hypocrite Barry," Brenda said as she began wiping her tears away. "You want that prefect badge next year just as much as I want it in _my_ fifth year."

"Not enough to sell out my friends or family," I told her. "It's not worth that much. Now go away. I can forgive you for some of your behaviour but not for trying to get Brianne in detention, and not for putting Tasha in detention!"

Brenda turned and walked off sobbing. I stared after her breathing heavily. How could she even compare my want for the badge to hers? I still felt she didn't realize just how wrong it was what she did.

"Barry, I think she truly is sorry," Tasha said. "And I forgive her. You and Brianne should think about doing the same. We need to be united right now."

"Just as we've been united the past month?" I asked her trying not to get angry with her as well.

"But she's realized her mistake. And in her own twisted way, she thought she was doing the right thing," Tasha responded as she put a hand on mine. "I know you're angry. I get it, and I feel flattered you are angry on my behalf but she is your sister. You need to remember that as well. Now, let's work on the Charms essay. Or, we could go to the game after all?"

"I'm studying," I said. "If Ravenclaw win, and they probably will given the fact that the Gryffindor team is awful this year, we won't get a moment of peace."

"Then lets study," Tasha said. "You still need to catch up on Herbology and Charms. You're doing great in Potions, but you really are falling behind in Charms."

I shrugged but did as she said. In my opinion Charms was a soft subject anyway. At least that's what I tried to tell myself. In reality, I knew that I just felt this way because it wasn't my strongest class.

* * *

Gryffindor ended up winning the Quidditch cup that year, which was a surprise to everyone. Ever since Harry Potter and the Weasley twins had been kicked off, the team hadn't really been all that great. However, Ginny Weasley and Ron Weasley seemed to really pull in a win apparently. The Slytherin's had made up a song called: "Weasley is our King," months ago after Ron had let in many goals. However, the Gryffindor's turned it on them and began singing it in favour of Ron. It made me regret not going even if our team lost. It actually sounded like would have been a lot of fun, and it would have improved my mood when it came to Brenda.

Chester and Ralph thought I should forgive her as well, and I knew I would eventually but for the time being, I was still too angry with her. I knew Brianne was as well, and we didn't really talk to her. I did have Brianne's friends join us as the exams approached. I wanted my little sister to do really well on her final exams, and just as I'd felt in previous years, it actually really help me to revise as well.

It was starting to get really nice out, so we started to do a lot of our revision outdoors instead of in the common room. Out in the grounds we could at least talk freely. In the common room, the fifth and seventh years were getting angry with people for talking too loud. Chester and Ralph who were normally easy-going were even yelling at people to keep quiet. So we found it easier to study either in the dorms or out in the grounds.

"What's going to happen next year?" Brianne asked one afternoon while we studied by the lake. "I mean, we're getting ready for Umbridge's exam but it's all so useless. We're going to be so behind next year for second year. What if our new Defense teacher isn't understanding? What if they assign us hard work?"

"Believe me, we get it," Nick told her. "We have to take our OWLs next year and we've only had two competent teacher. I mean, say what you want about the fake Moody," he added as Tasha looked ready to protest. "We did learn with him."

"We should have just joined the DA," I said. "I regret that so much now. Next year we'll be able to learn curses freely though. We can look through those spell books and maybe Harry will have the DA next year as well."

"Maybe we'll have a competent teacher to catch us up," Tasha said. "But what if Umbridge breaks the curse and she is here next year too?"

"I get the feeling she won't be," Nick said stretching. "Curse or no curse, she won't want to come back. She looks ready to have a breakdown, doesn't she? Think maybe we should visit Hagrid soon? Young Brianne hasn't met him yet."

"Maybe," I said. "Maybe later this week we can. Talk to him in classes and maybe we can arrange something. You'll love him," I added to Brianne. "He's great, he is old but he can relate to students really well. He'll look after you. I always meant to invite both you and Brenda, but she never had any interest and this year hasn't been the best for meetings."

"I've kind of met him," Brianne said. "But I would like to sit in his hut and drink tea like you lot have. Nick, you need to arrange something," she added with a grin at him.

"And I will do so, my demanding young friend," Nick said grinning at her and then he winked. "We have a Care of Magical Creatures class tomorrow. We'll talk to him then."

But that wasn't to be. Later that night while we were studying for our exams, the fifth years witnessed the Ministry trying to arrest him while they did their Astronomy exam. We were all sitting together in the common room when the fifth years spilled in talking loudly about what had happened. Apparently they tried to sneak up on him while he was in his hut. He managed to escape with his dog Fang, which was a relief. Unfortunately, they'd hit McGonagall with several stunners and she'd been taken out.

Tasha, who had always admired her began to weep.

"Oh I hope she is going to be okay," Tasha said. "Can you die from stunners?"

"I don't think so," Nick assured her. "She is probably just hurt but we'll likely see her in a few days. I can't believe they would attack her for defending Hagrid though! Hogwarts is going downhill so fast. I'm starting to think my parents have the right idea to homeschool me next year!"

Brianne, Tasha, and I gaped at him. He'd never mentioned this before! Normally he would be complaining about that kind of thing, but he hadn't said a word to us.

"Homeschool you?" Tasha asked. "You're not coming back?"

"You have to come back!" Brianne protested. "We promised we'd celebrate our birthdays together every year and we didn't this year."

"It's not definite," Nick responded. "But if things keep going this way they will. I don't want to stay at home, but with everything going on, I do wonder if it's best I do. OWLs are next year and we have a teacher who doesn't want to teach. Two teachers now have been sacked, and one of the best teachers is now layed up in the Hospital Wing. Hagrid is now gone, and he's one of the reasons it's worth being here. Don't get me wrong, I love it here but this year has been hell. How are we going to sit our Defense OWL next year after only having two years of proper education? There are people who tutor Hogwarts students and mum and dad might do that if things don't chance. Part of me is starting to agree."

And as much as I hated to agree with him, I knew he was right. What if we were all better off just staying at home and learning from a tutor? I would miss Ravenclaw tower and I'd miss out on being a prefect, but my education was important as well. Nick made a lot of good points.

"You can't be considering it as well?" Tasha asked me when I didn't say anything. "You two convinced me to stay!"

"If we left, we'd get a tutor for you as well," Nick said. "And it's not definite Tasha," he said quickly and he put an arm around her which annoyed me for some reason. "But we need to do well on those exams next year. We wouldn't abandon you. Umbridge is horrible though, and I'm tired of not getting a proper education here. It's so frustrating that the Ministry put her here at our expense only because they're in denial."

"Well, make sure you do tell me," she said sniffling. "Everything is going so wrong lately! I hate this."

Perhaps everything would be solved by the end of the school year however. It usually was after all.

* * *

Not too many people were too sad about Hagrid being gone. Though we got along better with the other fourth year Ravenclaws, none of them minded that he would no longer be teaching. They thought it was low of the Ministry to attack him, but that was it. They were more concerened about McGonagall though people like Gretchen worried more about who would grade our exams than how she was doing.

I felt quite worried about the exams as well, but not to that extent. I didn't feel that I was doing as well as I could be and I worried that my marks would suffer greatly that year. I didn't envy the fifth and seventh years at all. I knew that no matter how poorly I was doing, I would still pass into the fifth year. Their exams were determining the rest of their lives. It was usually stressful was it was, but with Umbridge and You-Know-Who hiding, it had to be ten times worse for them.

McGonagall it turned out was so injured that she had to be taken to St. Mungo's.

And then the moment we'd all been waiting for happened. The exams came to a closing, so we had a party in the Ravenclaw common room completely unaware of the events that were happening that night at the Ministry. We were all blissfully celebrating the fact that the year was almost over, and that we wouldn't have to deal with Umbridge anymore.

"Shots for the future prefects?" Chester asked as he came over to us with a tray of shots.

We were sitting with Brianne and her friends, trying to convince them that they didn't need any alcohol quite yet. Brianne seemed to be listening, but Hilda was quite defiant about it.

"I'm going to be thirteen soon!" Hilda was saying. "And you're not the boss of me!"

"Yes please," Tasha said instantly in answer to Chester.

"Really?" Chester said with a grin. "You've never been that quick to take a drink."

"None for the first years," I said as Nick and I both reached for one.

"Don't be like that," Chester told me. "You were that age when we let you try alcohol for the first time. Besides we have some jello shots for the firsties. One each," he added as Hilda stuck her tongue out at me. "Barry is right after all. We're not letting you get drunk, just slightly buzzed. Nothing else but butterbeer though."

I didn't respond, but I felt different on the matter at fifteen than I had at twelve. I didn't want to be a killjoy, but I just didn't think nothing could come from twelve-year-olds drinking anything but butterbeer. I didn't want to pull a Brenda though, so I looked away as Ralph offered my little sister and her friend's jello shots. Surely they wouldn't get too drunk from those.

"We were their age," Nick whispered to me before taking another shot.

I sighed, but I wondered how I'd be able to handle being prefect next year knowing that my little sister might try alcohol. Ralph and Chester had never had problems with it. I also knew that I wouldn't care if it wasn't Brianne, so I did my best to relax and have fun.

"Barry," Brianne said to me later on while some people began to dance. "I'm not going to start getting drunk all the time. I've always been curious, and you were twelve too when you tried your first drink. It doesn't mean we'll be taking shots of firewhiskey all the time."

"I know, it just feels different seeing you do it," I said. "You've always been my little sister, and now that I'm older, I do think twelve is too young."

She just smiled at he and hugged me.

"And I won't drink if it makes you uncomfortable," she told me. "I don't have any interest in being like some of these idiots anyway," she added as some sixth year began singing off tune to a Weird Sisters song playing on the wireless. "But I was curious, just as you were. Just as someday Ben will be."

"Yeah well just promise me you'll watch him," I said. "I don't want to get all big brother or be like Brenda but-"

"I'll watch out for him just as you will, and I promise I'm not going to suddenly become an alcoholic," she told me. "You've always been smart about it, and so will I. So stop brooding and have fun! If you don't, I will accuse you of being like Brenda."

I laughed and got up to join the others. She was right after all. I hated that she was growing up though. She was going to want to experiment in other ways, and I had to learn to accept that.

* * *

We didn't learn what happened at the Ministry right away. We woke up the next day unaware of any changes, but every morning, I'd taken to checking my chalkboard just in case mum and dad had something to tell me. There was a message waiting for me that morning, so I pulled it out and read through it. I let out a yelp, and Nick rushed to my side quickly and knelt down.

"What's going on?" He asked me knowing that mum and dad must have told me something. Thankfully the other boys weren't around.

"You-Know-Who was at the Ministry last night," I said. "Mum and dad don't know all the details, but Harry Potter went there to rescue... Sirius Black for some reason, and You-Know-Who was there too. There was a fight among the Order members and the Death Eaters. The world knows he is back though."

"Did anyone die?" Nick asked. "Harry is okay, isn't he? And he probably took Ron and Hermione-"

"I'll ask mum and dad," I said. "I want to know why he was rescuing Black."

And I quickly wrote asking mum and dad for more details. They must have been waiting for me to write, or else my sisters because they were quick to respond back.

"So Sirius Black was actually innocent the whole time and he was Harry's godfather. They never told me because they thought it was best I didn't know. I don't see that logic, but anyway, the only one who died was Sirius and Harry is very upset by it. Blimey, I don't blame him whatsoever. He just finds someone who could have been a parent, and he dies. Mum and dad said it was a trick to lure Harry to the Ministry and that Sirius was never there. That's all they know but they don't want us blabbing until the official story goes out. We can tell Tasha and that's it. Other people might not know yet."

"It won't be a secret for long," Nick said standing up. "They'll be telling people right away though they're going to have to apologize to a lot of people. That must mean Umbridge will be gone though. Hopefully, she faces an inquiry for everything."

"I'm telling mum and dad everything when I go home," I said. "It's too much to tell on the chalkboard. Dad will complain about it. I know he will. Let's go find Tasha."

We quickly dressed and then hurried downstairs and into the common room. We didn't see Tasha anywhere though, so I wondered if she was still up in her dorm. I quickly hurried back to the dorms, and then tried to climb up the stairs to take me to the girls dorms. I'd never actually been in her dorm before. However, just as I tried to climb up the steps, there was a long clanging sound and the steps flattened. I slid back down and landed on my back. Nick began to laugh as he offered me his hand.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorms?" He asked me.

"No," I responded annoyed as I got up. "Did yours?"

"Yes," he answered laughing even harder as some girls slid down the newly made slide. He pointed at me instantly. The two girls giggled and took off.

"And yet you let me- well, played mate," I responded. "But you'll pay for that one. Let's go before more girls come down."

"It was worth it," he told me still laughing as we exited. "I've been hoping to see someone try it. I heard Ron Weasley tried at the beginning of the school year and the same thing happened."

"Let's just find Tasha," I said pretending to be annoyed.

It was funny, however, and if I had to be honest, I would have done the same thing to him myself. If word didn't get around, maybe I could do the same to the blokes in our year, or maybe even Ben in a couple of years. Nick punched me lightly in the shoulder as we hurried across the common room. I did wonder if more people knew about the Ministry break-in.

* * *

By the end of the weekend, everyone knew what had happened. All the people who had called Harry, a liar, were now eating their words. The best part was that Dumbledore and McGonagall back which meant that Hagrid was likely back as well. We decided to go and visit his Sunday afternoon with Brianne in tow.

"'Ello you three," he said excitedly. "Been 'opin to see yeh three. Just has a visit with 'arry, but he didn't stay long."

I wanted to ask more about Harry, but decided against it for the time being. I didn't want to be one of those people who bothered him or other people for details. Mum and dad would likely tell me more soon enough. Instead, I just introduced him to Brianne instead.

"Barry's been talkin' about yeh for years," Hagrid told her. "Been 'opin to meet yeh and I'm sorry I didn' before now. What with Umbridge and everythin' it wasn't the bes' idea for students to visit me. Feel free to next year."

"I will, and I'll probably bring the girls," she said happily. "Is it true that Umbridge got dragged off by a herd of centaurs? A girl in my year said it happened, but you never know with the rumours at Hogwarts."

"Er yes, she wen' and called them a bunch of filthy half-breeds," Hagrid responded. "Didn' react to well to that, but Madam Pomfrey is fixin her up nicely."

"Idiot woman," Nick said. "Hopefully that will drive her out of here."

Hagrid smiled at him.

"Tell me more about your brother," Hagrid told him.

It seemed to be the right thing to say. Nick launched into stories about Noah while the rest of us sat back and drank our tea. This was the way it was supposed to be at Hogwarts. Sitting in Hagrids hut and enjoying ourselves. I did wonder how long it would take to change though. What would happen next year with You-Know-Who being out in the open?

* * *

"Mate, have you forgiven your sister yet?"

We were on our way to the Great Hall for the final feast. I was sure that there would be a big speech for Harry, and I definitely didn't want to miss it. I wanted to see the looks on all the people who had been denial when he did. Once again, Harry Potter had faced You-Know-Who, and he had escaped. Now everyone knew he'd fought him the graveyard last year, and how Cedric really died. The seventh years seemed especially subdued, and I knew it was because he should have been leaving with them. Half of them had believed he'd died a different way, and they were all facing up to that now.

I turned to see that it was Chester who had spoken. I slowed down and let Tasha and Nick go on ahead of me. They would save me a spot in the Great Hall. I knew they would. Ralph wasn't too far behind, and he caught up as well. The three of us stood back while everyone rushed ahead. Once they were gone, I leaned my back against the wall and folded my arms while I faced my cousins.

"No," I said firmly.

"Barry, you need to forgive her," Chester said.

"He's out in the open now Barry. Things have already started happening, and it's going to get worse. Who knows what will happen now. If anything happened to either you or Brenda, you'd never forgive yourselves. There are more important things to worry about mate," Ralph told me.

"Make it up with her today. You're the older brother, so you need to be the one to step up," Chester said.

"But I've always been the who has to-" I began.

"Barry, none of that matters!" Ralph said with frustration. "There are more important things going on right now, and we shouldn't be fighting. A brother and sister should be ignoring each other. Forgive Brenda. Talk to her tonight. We all have to be united."

I let out a sigh. I knew he was right, but it was damn frustrating that I always had to be the bigger person when it came to her. It was up to me forgive her as usual. What she had done was so very wrong. I said this angrily and then stared down at the ground.

"Yes and she knows that now," Chester said. "She has talked to us about it. She _knows_. She feels horrible that Tasha got her hand cut up. She said it never really hit her before until she saw Kendra's hand cut up. It took a lot for her to go over and apologize to you lot. So yes, you have to be the big brother and forgive your little sister. This is all petty compared to what's waiting for you out there!"

"We get it. We've had fights with our sibling before," Ralph added to me. "But that's all it is."

"I'll forgive her," I said. "It's going to be really hard, but I will forgive her. It doesn't matter how angry I am with her; I would always protect her."

Chester and Ralph exchanged looks.

"But think about how you'd feel if you woke up tomorrow to find out she was murdered," Ralph said. "All of this wouldn't matter, and you'd feel guilty that you two never made up."

"I know," I said.

"Good," Chester said. "So lets down to the feast. I'm glad we've gotten to know you better, cousin. You were always just little Barry for the longest time. But now you're the oldest Hoofer at Hogwarts. Look out for them like we did you."

"And you know you can contact at any time," Ralph added. "We're just an owl away."

"But you're going to the States," I said as I began walking. "It's more than an owl away."

"We can make it back if we have to," Chester said. "For now, especially now, the UK isn't the best place to be. I'm just glad you'll be here and safe."

"Hogwarts is the safest place to be," Ralph added.

We walked in silence for a bit before I thought about that prefect badge.

"So any news about me being prefect next year?" I asked as we got closer to the Entrance Hall.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ralph asked.

The two of them began speeding up and laughing. I chased after them calling out that it was really unfair. As I chased after them, I knew I'd forgive Brenda. They were right after all. There were bigger things to worry about.


	35. Summer before Fifth Year

"Nope, absolutely not," mum told me.

It was a couple of weeks into the summer. All I wanted to do was go work in Diagon Alley, but my parents had told me as soon as I got home that it wasn't possible. I felt completely irritated by this, and so for the past couple of weeks I'd been feeling rather moody. I already had my homework out of the way, and I felt extremely bored. I loved my siblings, and I was happy to spend time with Ben, but I wanted to get out of the house. I hadn't seen Tasha or Nick since we'd left the train two weeks ago.

We were in the middle of breakfast when I brought the topic up again. All I wanted to do was earn money for school. I didn't want to babysit when mum left during the day for errands, but that was Brianne's job anyway and I didn't want to take it from her. There was a chance that next summer she wouldn't have to anyway as Ben would be nearly eleven, so it was likely her last summer. Brenda was working with the elderly lady she'd worked with the year before.

"Mum, they probably wouldn't dare attack people in the middle of Diagon Alley," I said.

"Barry, I know you know what is going on," mum told me exasperated. "I've seen you reading both the Daily and Evening Prophet. Now that the world knows he is back, they have no problem attacking in public. There was another muggle family found dead last night! I absolutely cannot risk you working in Diagon Alley."

"Son," dad said as he lowered the Daily Prophet, which spoke of the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, being sacked on the front page. "We are both very happy that you want to earn money. I'm sorry that you can't this summer. However, if you'd like to earn some gold, you could do chores around the house. A lot of kids your age have chores and earn an allowance."

"But that's for kids," I pointed out. "Teens go out and get real jobs and I heard that you can be a dishwasher at The Leaky when you're fifteen! Surely they wouldn't attack The Leaky Cauldron!"

"I worked around my house when I was your age," mum told me. "There is plenty of yard work to do if you don't want to clean. We just don't feel comfortable with you in Diagon Alley right now."

"And I can ask around," dad added. "If you don't want to work at home, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind hiring you."

I sighed and shook my head feeling resigned. It wasn't that I didn't understand my parents worry, but it was so frustrating. All I wanted to do was leave the house and work like a real man. Working around the house was something people Ben's age did! I would be sixteen in December and I felt like I was being treated like a little boy again.

"I'll just do the yard work," I finally said.

"Take the charms off the pool and make him clean the pool every day," Brenda said with a smirk. "He can learn to do it the muggle way."

I just shot a glare at her and folded my arms. While I'd forgiven her (and it had been really hard) she still felt the need to annoy me almost every day. She'd apologized to both Brianne and Tasha again, but she'd gone back to her normal annoying self. I supposed I could take that over her being a bitch all the time.

"That isn't a bad idea," dad suddenly said and I looked up with shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked as Brenda gloated. "Why do it if it can be cleaned with a charm?"

"Because you want something to do," dad said and then he laughed which annoyed me even more. "This isn't a punishment son. I understand your frustration, but you want something to do to earn money. We don't have to do that if you want us to, but it would earn you money. Pools are actually very hard to maintain without magic, and it would keep you busy, and we would pay you for it."

"Besides, almost everything can be cleaned with a charm," mum added to me. "But you'll notice at times I still mop the floors the way the muggles do it. Sometimes cleaning by hand is more efficient and satisfying. I admit, when I am exhausted, magic is convenient but doing it by hand can help if you're feeling stressed and you need to take your mind off things."

"And that's why you've been cleaning like a muggle lately?" Brianne spoke up.

"Yes," mum said smiling at her.

I finally gave a shrug.

"I'll take what I can get I guess, but I'd still prefer to work in Diagon Alley," I responded.

"I could help if you want," Ben said quickly. "I used to help dad with the yard work all the time when he did it the muggle way. Only if you want Barry, I don't want to annoy you. You've been moody this summer."

I just gave another shrug.

"You can, but if I ask you to go away, then listen please," I answered. "And I've been moody because I feel like a little kid again. I'm sorry if I've taken it out on you lot."

"It's okay," Ben said quickly. "I'll leave if you don't want me around."

"We understand how frustrating it can be for all you," dad said. "But while he is back, and they are killing, we have to do what we can to keep you lot safe. They won't think twice about killing you, especially since we are a family of blood traitors."

"Is our house safe?" Ben asked. "I know we have the security charms but what if they come here?"

"So far we should be," dad told him. "The security charms held last time, and we've strengthened them. Most of them don't know where we live. I think the Ministry would have to be taken over for them to find out. I'm sure they might know the general location of our home, but I don't believe we are in immediate danger yet."

"But they probably will try to take over the Ministry, won't they?" Brianne asked.

Dad sighed. "I imagine that is their plan eventually, but with Dumbledore around, it won't be easy. We plan to be open with all four of you, but I'd rather you didn't worry about it too much. So far, it seems they just want to randomly attack people. We will know if they come here though. Our spells detect anyone who is malicious. We can leave with all of you at a moments notice. If it comes down to it, I'll be the secret keeper here and they won't be able to touch any of us. We won't do that now because it means I'd have to stop going to work, and you three wouldn't be able to go to school."

"And you remember your promise to protect Tasha and her parents?" I asked.

"There are already charms on her place, as you know," dad answered. "Just as there are on Brianne's muggle-borns friend's places. So far, no one bad has gone to any of their places. We will protect everyone who needs protection if need be."

I noticed dad didn't mention Kendra, and I figured he was doing it to spare Brenda though I knew he'd put protective charms on her place as well. Kendra and Brenda were still friends but I knew Kendra hadn't completely forgiven Brenda for putting her in detention. Brenda didn't like to talk about it, and I knew mum and dad knew that. I wondered if it was part of the reason for why my sister wanted to annoy me so much. She was bored.

"But while we're on the topic," mum continued and she reached into her robes pocket and pulled out a purple leaflet which she set down in the middle of the table.

We'd all seen it already. It was the security measures we were to take while the You-Know-Who was in power. They'd been delivered to every wizarding home in the UK. I wasn't sure why mum was bringing it out again, she'd made all four of us read it at least three times since it had arrived.

"We need to go over our security questions," she said. "And that means with your friends too. And I mean all four of you."

Brenda snorted.

"Even Ben?" She asked. "Do you honestly think that someone will impersonate Sam? He's eight!"

"You'd be surprised at what these people are willing to do," dad said. "And if they can, they could try to take Ben and hold him hostage to get to your mother and I. They would do the same to all of you. I don't want to scare of you, but you need to be aware."

"Constant vigilance," I said with a smirk remembering the fake Moody in my third year. Not that I found _him_ funny but his 'constant vigilance' had been a running joke among a lot of people at Hogwarts.

"Exactly," dad answered. "I know you're kidding around, but it's the truth. You do need to be aware. He might have been a fraud, but he did teach you a valuable lesson."

"Is that why I'm not allowed to play outside alone anymore?" Ben asked.

"That's exactly why," mum answered. "I know it isn't easy Ben since you've been allowed to play alone for years, but we have to be careful. They could breach our charms and they could find you outside alone. So later on, I want all four of you to think of security questions to share with your friends. We'll also be coming up with our own for the six of us. We should have done this at the beginning of the summer. The floo network is also now passworded."

"But how are we supposed to tell our friends that?" Brianne asked. "We can't send it in a letter."

"They already know dear," mum said. "We've been communicating with all of your friend's parents," and then she frowned. "Well, with the exception of Tasha's," she added as she glanced at me. "But I told Tasha the password when we took her home. Not that she'll need it but since we'll pick her up, but in case she does manage to floo here, she knows it."

"What kind of security questions?" Brenda asked.

"Why does it matter to you?" Ben asked her. "You don't have any friends."

"Shut up!" Brenda said angrily and I knew she was thinking of Kendra.

The odd thing was, Ben had been bringing this up a lot. It was almost as if he'd forgotten about Kendra. He believed she had no friends at all, not even Kendra. Maybe it was because he was still young, and it had been a while since Kendra had come over.

"Don't start," dad said quickly. "We don't need the four of you fighting at the moment. Your questions should be something that only you know about each other. Even among the four of you, I believe you should come up with your security questions. Your mother and I have our own with each other, but we'd like to have them with the four of you as well."

Though I knew that he was back, I'd known for over a year now, but at the moment, it truly felt real. Before, he hadn't really done much but with us actually having to make up our security questions, I suddenly felt chilled. I even had to have one with my nine-year-old brother. And my annoyance from the last two weeks began to fade. Mum and dad were right to keep me at home.

* * *

Though at first, I wasn't too happy about doing the same chores my nine-year-old brother was doing, I realized mum was right while I did the yard work. It was actually a lot harder than the stuff that Ben was assigned, and it made me wonder how muggles lived the way they did all the time. Mum and dad stopped using spells to weed the gardens, and it turned out it was a lot of work. We had a lot of gardens, and I felt that I could pull of a weed one day and it would be back the next day. However, it was satisfying. It was hard work, and the gardens looked good because of _me._

I also agreed to let mum and dad take the charms off the pool as well, and I realized just how well they really did work. Every single morning I would go out and find bugs, leaves, or some other debry in the pool which I would have to clean, and some of it would be back later on. The bottom of the pool was the hardest to take care of, but dad did have a pool vacuum I could use. I usually let Ben help me with the pool since he loved diving to the bottom to grab leaves. He would make a game of it. Although, that summer we didn't get to use the pool as much as we usually wanted to. It was actually a cool summer, which was a vast difference from the last. Sometimes mum and dad would put heating charms on the water so we could still use it though.

I also had to start cutting the grass as well. Dad actually went out and got a muggle lawn mower for me to use. Before that, he had some kind of spell on it so that it didn't grow past a certain length. It was hard to believe how much had to be done outside without magic. What did muggles who lived in mansions do without magic?

"I dunno how they do it," I said one day at lunch which I scarfed down quickly. All the work I had to do made me hungry all the time. "There are so many weeds and muggles do this all the time! How do they do it in houses like ours?"

"Rich people usually have servants," mum responded. "As you'll recall, we once had a house elf until the four of you were old enough to look after yourselves. Rich muggle folk have maids or yard workers who do it for them. The ones who live in smaller homes usually find it easy to maintain."

"But you're also right that it does feel satisfying," I added.

"And you're certainly earning your Galleons," mum said as she reached out to ruffle my hair. "So you see, you don't need to work in Diagon Alley, and the work you're doing is the kind that adults do as well. Even adult wizards who either aren't good with the spells, or prefer to work with their hands."

She was right about that, and perhaps someday when I had my own home I would take care of it all on my own too. I was truly enjoying it and most evenings after washing up, I could relax in the pool with my siblings. The summer which I'd originally found boring was turning out to be a lot better than I'd thought it would be. I did miss Tasha and Nick like crazy though. We'd barely even written since our owls could be intercepted, and Nick had promised that we could spend a weekend at his place soon.

I did hope he was returning to Hogwarts as he said his parents were considering home-schooling him. It was odd not being in contact with Tasha and Nick when we'd always written at least every day during the summer. Most of my days were spent hanging out with Ben, and sometimes Brianne. I missed having people my own age around though.

One afternoon at the end of July, the book lists finally arrived. I was just cleaning the pool with some muggle net thing when a barn owl flew over to me. For one moment I hoped it was maybe Tasha, but then I saw the Hogwarts crest and I felt excited. I took the envelope from the owl noticing it was thicker than usual. That had to mean- and I tore the envelope open quickly. I pulled out a couple pieces of parchment, and a badge also slid out. I stared at it in disbelief. I'd been hoping since first year I'd get it, but part of me worried I wouldn't. In my hand sat a Ravenclaw prefect badge.

Excitedly, I rushed to the patio doors and into the kitchen. Brianne was sitting at the table with Ben and reading through her book list. Brenda wasn't home yet, but I was assuming her letter had been delivered at the elderly woman's house. Mum was busy washing down the counters from lunch.

"I got it!" I said excitedly. "I am the boy prefect!"

"Ooh!" Brianne said excitedly. "Congratulations!"

"Can I see it?" Ben asked excitedly as he jumped up from the table.

He rushed over to me and I handed him my badge. He examined it excitedly before he pinned it to the front of his shirt.

"This will be mine someday," he said.

"I don't doubt that, but just be careful with it," I told him before perusing my book lists.

"We'll have to contact Tasha," mum said as she came over as well. "We'll need to take her as well. She isn't going on her own."

"I hope she was made prefect as well," I said. "But I think Katrina was a close second."

"I'll apparate to her place this afternoon," mum said. "Perhaps I can even bring her back tonight. She can stay for the rest of the summer."

There was a back shed my parents usually apparated into at Tasha's place. For some reason, though her parents didn't like the magic, they had no problem with them doing that. Tasha told me once it was because it was in the backyard, and no one could see their yard due to their high fences. No one would question why people seemed to go into the shed and didn't come out. The only way they'd know was if they were peering over the fence. Her parents even kept the shed unlocked just for them to do this. Part of me wondered if secretly they did want her to be happy, no matter how much in denial they were about it. Why else were they letting magical beings whom they disliked use their shed that way?

"I suppose I'll have to let the Ministry know as well," mum continued. "We usually let them know ahead of time, just in case, but they'll likely be watching muggle-born homes more closely now. I'll do all that this afternoon. This weekend we can go to Diagon Alley."

"Can we see the Weasley's new joke shop?" Brianne asked. "Fred and George have a joke shop in Diagon Alley now."

"I don't see why not," mum responded. "But we're all sticking together this time. No one is to go on their own. I'll contact the Lawrences as well to see what they're doing as well."

For the rest of the afternoon, I was on edge waiting for mum to return with Tasha. Ben and Brianne were taking turns playing with my badge. Ben would pretend to be a prefect and he'd try to put Brianne in 'detention' or he'd take house points away and then Brianne would play the position of prefect. I allowed them to do it as long as they promised to be careful with it. I didn't see the harm in them playing with it though. I knew someday they'd likely have their own as well.

Finally, late afternoon when I was sweeping the deck, Tasha rushed out the patio doors to hug me. I hadn't seen her in weeks, and it seemed she'd grown the last time I saw her. She also had longer hair which she'd put blond high lights in at some point. She looked a lot more grown up and it was hard to believe that she was the same person. She was grinning as she rushed into my arms.

"Ooh I've missed you so much!" She said excitedly. "I've wanted to write so much, but I knew it was too risky."

"You've changed your hair," I said was I pushed a lock of it behind her ear.

"It was actually mum's idea," she said smiling. "It doesn't look bad does it?"

"No, it looks great," I said. "I'm just used to your dark hair. But it was your mum's idea? Does that mean that you two are talking more?"

"No," she answered and she pulled away looking a little sad. "But mum and dad put up appearances when I'm around. She wanted to do a mother-daughter thing just so people didn't ask questions. I wasn't going to turn down a day with my mum. We had a spa day where we got manicures and massages and everything. I did think at first that she wanted to bond. She asked me questions about school, but then once I started talking about magic too much she kind of shut down. I did have to tell them that the wizarding world isn't as safe as it was. I didn't give them too many details, but I just told them to be careful."

"And how did they react to that?" I asked figuring not too well. They already had such a strong dislike for magic as it was.

"Actually, they were glad I told them," Tasha said. "They're still not happy with me being a witch, probably more so than ever, but they thanked me for being honest with them. I was scared they'd tell me to get out right then there but they didn't. Dad wanted to know exactly what security measures they should know about, so I gave them that Ministry leaflet and I let them know that your parents have protective charms on our house and neighbourhood. It wasn't too awful being at home, but I could sense their resentment that I was bringing this on to our home."

"Except you're not. Even if you weren't magical, your family would be in danger," I responded. "Everyone is in danger right now. Even the Death Eaters are, not that they realize it. You-Know-Who isn't loyal to any of them, he'll kill them as easily as he would you. At least with you being a witch, their home is protected. Are they at least following those measures then?"

Tasha nodded.

"Yes, all three of us have security questions. They're taking it seriously thankfully," she answered. "But forget all that. Did you get a prefect badge too?"

I nodded and pointed over to where Brianne and Ben were playing in the yard. Neither had realized that Tasha was there yet, otherwise, they'd be over with us.

"They're playing with it right now," I told her. "So I take it you got the other one then?"

Tasha nodded and pointed behind her toward the house.

"It's in my trunk. I wasn't expecting your mum today, so I had to pack everything really fast. Mum said I can stay here all summer. Your mum asked me if they knew, and I told her they did, so she also talked to my mum about everything. For once, my mum wasn't rude to yours. Normally, they are a bit rude but she had some questions and she even thanked her for protecting us. I'm hoping this means that their going to see me differently now. They still want me to come here for Christmas and Easter, but maybe they're changing their minds," she told me.

I sure hoped so, but to take her mind off of it for the time being, I took her by the hand to take her out to where Brianne and Ben were. As soon as we got close to them, both yelled out excitedly and rushed over to us.

"Ooh you look so pretty!" Brianne said to Tasha. "I've always wanted to do that to my hair, but mum always says no. Maybe now she will let me."

"You look so pretty as well," Tasha told her. "You both look even more grown-up than before. Especially you, Ben, you're almost the same height as Brianne now."

"I am almost ten," Ben said with a grin. "I'm almost a year younger than you were when we first met."

"Yes you are," Tasha said with amusement before grinning at me. "I can't believe you're already starting your second year," she added to Brianne.

"Mum feels the same way," Brianne told her. "She was kind of weepy when we got home. I bet she'll be worse when Ben is about to start his first year."

"Which is still forever," Ben said with a sigh.

"It's not that long mate," I told him.

"Two years," he said as he folded his arms.

"And they'll go by quickly," Tasha told him. "Trust me. So where is Barry's badge? He said you two were playing with it."

"Here," Brianne said as she pointed at her chest. "Now you two can play with us as well. We're pretending to be prefects. Are you one as well?"

Tasha nodded. "It's in my trunk. I'll grab it later, but we can play with this one for now."

"And later if Nick comes over, and Brenda comes home, we can play with more people," Ben said. "Maybe you can invite all of your friends Brianne, and then I can invite Sam. All of us can play."

"Don't count on Brenda playing," I reminded him. "But the rest of us can."

To me, it seemed like a really childish game but I wasn't going to say no to it. If they could have fun and be like normal kids, I wasn't going to stop that. I was surprised to see even Brianne wanted to play. By the time I was her age, I'd stopped playing games. I figured she wanted to be a kid for as long as possible as well. She seemed to be the only one out of the four of us who wanted to hang onto her childhood. Ben, Brenda, and I had always wanted to be more grown up.

"So whose turn is it to be the prefect then?" Tasha asked them.

"You can," Brianne said as she unpinned it from her shirt. "You need to train anyway. We'll be really bad, and you'll have to take points away and put us in detention."

"You do know there is more to a prefect then that, right?' I asked laughing.

"Yes, but it's more fun to do it this way," Ben said. "Okay, so the three of us will be the kids, and then you start patrolling the corridors, Tasha. Maybe we should be different houses too. I can be Slytherin, and you two can pick a house and obviously Tasha is Ravenclaw."

"I'll be Gryffindor," Brianne said quickly. "The hat did consider it for me."

"I guess I'm Hufflepuff then," I said pretending to be upset by this.

Tasha grinned as she pinned the badge to the front of her shirt.

"Okay you lot, go off and be naughty kids," she said laughing. "Whoever loses the most house points is the winner."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" I asked.

"Maybe, but the game is to lose points or be put in detention," Tasha told me. "It makes more sense to lose the most because the three of you are trying to be bad."

"Fair enough," I said.

"Besides, it will put you in the mood as well," she added. "I can see you just trying to pretend to do homework. You have to be bad too, Barry."

"Yeah, you have to be bad too!" Ben said.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Don't worry, I will be," and then I rushed forward to body check him.

* * *

It ended up being a game we played a lot for the rest of that summer. To my surprise, even Brenda wanted to join in. As soon as she did, we could actually play all four houses. One afternoon, Brianne invited all her friends, Ben invited Sam, and Nick came over so we were able to even it out even more. Every single one of them didn't mind playing the game, though Hilda did try to get cute with me.

We ended up all going to Diagon Alley together as well. The parents decided it was better this way and they divided us all up based on our ages. To my dismay, it was the three of us with Brenda. At first, mum and dad weren't going to let Ben go, but he threw a pretty impressive temper-tantrum, and mum and dad decided to sit down and talk with him about it. I knew he too wanted to go to the Weasley's joke shop, and he was really upset that we'd see it but he couldn't. After many discussions, they finally allowed him to come as well.

Mum and dad took us older kids around while Nick's parents took half of Brianne's friends and Ben around. The Keller's took the other half. We were to all meet at the joke shop later. I did find it irritating that we had to go all over the place with our parents, but once we got there, it was to find that this was common with almost everyone. I noticed Cho Chang who was going off into her seventh year, was holding hands with an older woman. People didn't even talk to each other. They just rushed in and out of shops with their eyes down.

Another odd thing was small stands were set up on the side of the streets. People were trying to sell defensive devices to wizards as they went by.

"Most are tricks," dad responded when Brenda asked why we couldn't get the protective necklaces. "You put that on, and who knows what it does."

"And they're getting away with that?" Tasha asked with wide eyes.

"There is a department in the Ministry who is trying to put a stop to it. The problem is, they shut stands down, but more pop up. Some of it is rather silly, but others can be really dangerous," and he gave me a significant look. "And it's why we were adamant about you not working here this year."

I nodded understanding as someone called out to me to try their invisibility potion. I looked away and rushed ahead to Flourish and Blotts. No wonder mum and dad hadn't even wanted Ben to come. I hoped he was okay, but I knew Nick's parents were good with protective spells. I just wanted to get to the joke shop to see what it was like, and then I wanted to get home. I would have been uncomfortable working there that summer. Half the shops were boarded up, and Diagon Alley at one time was a very vibrant place. The ice cream place we'd visited the year before was boarded up, and even Ollivanders sat empty.

It was so depressing being down there until we began looking for the Weasley's shop. It was a bright and one of the windows had an assortment of things that made noise, bounced, flashed and just made quite scene compared the rest of the depressing shops. One of the windows had a giant purple poster that said:

 _Why are your worrying about You-Know-Who?_

 _You SHOULD Be Worrying About_

 _U-No-Poo-  
_

 _The Constipation Sensation That's Gripping The Nation!_

As soon as I finished reading, I began to laugh. Tasha and Nick looked around at me to see why. As soon as they read it, they began to laugh too.

"Let's just get inside," mum said nervously as Brenda moved in for a closer look as well. "Anything can happen."

I refrained from pointing out that anything could happen inside as well. I didn't say a word though, I just led the way inside. I was amazed with all they'd accomplished since leaving. I hadn't known they'd made half the things that were sitting on the shelves, and the Skiving Snackboxes were almost sold out. Ahead, I could see that Brianne and her friends were already there in an area that was all pink and glittery. They were looking at a bunch of love potions, while Ben stood to the side with a frown on his face. Tasha and Brenda rushed over, but I went over to rescue my brother.

"You lot don't need love potions," I told the girls as I took Ben's hand and led him away.

While I respected the Weasley's a lot, I wasn't too impressed that they were sellings things like that. As much as I hated to admit it, both my sisters were pretty. What if someone tried to drug them? And it made me sound as if I had an ego, but what if someone drugged me? I just thought it was a very bad idea to sell that kind of thing to Hogwarts students. I dragged Ben over to where there were a variety of different quills.

"These are actually useful," Nick said as he grabbed a Spell-Checking quill. "These aren't even joke items. They're brilliant."

"A lot of things here aren't just joke stuff," Ben said. "But you should see the fake wands, Barry! They look like real wands. You can usually tell with Zonko's, but the Weasley's wands look so realistic. Come look!"

"In a moment," I murmured as I looked over the quills.

"Our parents are standing guard by the door," Nick whispered in my ear. "They're not even looking around. I would think even adults would find this place brilliant."

I glanced over to where all of our parents were standing to the side by the door. All of them looked tense. I was sure under normal circumstances they would like it here as well, but they probably just wanted us to finish looking so we could leave. The place was really crowded and I supposed Death Eaters could try to take advantage of that. I said all of this to Nick who nodded before grabbing a Smart-Answer quill.

"This place really is brilliant," he continued. "Look at it all! I can't believe they've been inventing all of this while they were in school."

I grabbed a few quills before I allowed Ben to drag us over to the wands. I knew they'd been selling some of them a couple of years ago at Hogwarts, but I'd never really paid attention to them. To me, fake wands were boring. Usually, a person could tell the difference if someone tried to swap their wands. However, I could see what Ben meant as we looked them over. They did look real. In fact, one of them even resembled my wand so much that I could end up grabbing it instead of my own if one was around.

"These would be great to slip Brenda," Ben told me. "They hit you over the head."

I laughed thinking about Brenda reaching for her wand only to get hit with it. I had to admit, for the first time since I was probably about Ben's age, I found fake wands to be really cool. I decided to grab some of the cheaper ones before we moved on. Ben reached for a few, including the one that would hit someone.

"You don't think Tasha is buying a love potion do you?" Nick asked me as we stopped to look at some muggle magic tricks.

"No, they're probably just looking," I said. "I can't see any of them actually purchasing them. Besides, I think I saw something about only being sold to people over the age of sixteen. It might have been for something else, but I'm hoping it includes those potions."

"What if Hilda gets a hold of it?" Nick asked.

"I can't see her doing that," I said. "At least I would hope Brianne would choose better friends. Why do you suppose they're selling muggle stuff?"

"Probably for the novelty," Nick responded as he opened a curtain. "Let's go back here."

"Are we allowed?" Ben asked nervously.

"Think so, there are people back here," Nick told him.

It was a darker room, and fewer people were back there. As we scanned the shelves, we could see that they were for defensive magic.

"I want a Decoy Detonator!" Ben who had rushed ahead said excitedly. He was pointing to some odd looking thing that was trying to leave the shelves.

"Pick out what you want mate," I told him. "I'll get it for your birthday."

"I'll grab something for you as well," Nick told him. "Want some Instant Darkness Powder?"

"Really?" Ben asked excitedly.

"Sure, why not," Nick said. "It's not every day you turn ten. That's a really grown up age you know. You're finally in the double digits."

"I know," Ben said looking so serious I had to look away to hide my smile.

I wasn't sure how long we were at the joke shop for, but we wanted to look at everything. Mum finally approached us later on when we were back in the main part of the shop. We were looking at Edible Dark Marks when she tapped my shoulder.

"Are you lot about done?" She asked. "We'd like to get going."

By that point, all three of our arms were full of joke items. It was getting to the point that it was hard to hold all of it.

"I think so," I said as I glanced at Nick who nodded.

"The girls didn't get love potions did they?" Ben asked making a face as mum beckoned for us to go to the counter.

"We wouldn't let them. They just got some makeup and some kind of pimple vanisher. I have to admit, these two really outdid themselves," mum responded as she accompanied us to the line up at the counter. "Ben, do you really need all of that? It looks expensive."

"We're paying for it," Nick told her quickly as Ben's face dropped. "It's for his birthday."

It took a little bit to get to the counter, and then I paid for all my things and half of Ben's, and then Nick did the same. Mum seemed relieved as she took Ben by the hand, and led him to the door where everyone else was waiting. Nick and I quickly followed. I couldn't wait to get home so we could try out everything we'd bought. The parents had agreed we could all go back to our place for a bit. Nick's parents were leaving to pick up Noah, who was with Nick's father's parents. We would finally get to meet him. I believed he must have been at least six months by that point.

When we left the shop, our parents seemed determined for us to walk as fast as we could down the alley to The Leaky Cauldron. Oddly enough, more of the shabby stands had popped up while we'd been in the joke shop.

"A protective cloak for your little boy?" A man called out to mum who grabbed Ben's hand and walked even faster, causing Ben to protest that she was squeezing his hand too hard.

"I'm sorry dear," mum said once we were a distance away.

Before we entered the brickway back into The Leaky, dad turned to all of us.

"Everyone remembers the password right?" He asked, looking more at Brianne's friends than the rest of us.

There was a murmur of yes's and dad nodded before stepping back to allow all of us kids to go in first before the adults followed. We had to wait a bit before we could finally enter the fireplace, there was a long line of wizards waiting. Part of me wondered what the point of having a password today was if the people behind us would hear. I figured I'd bring it up to mum and dad once we were all home. After today it was probably best if we changed the password.

Mum sent Brianne first, then Ben, and then Brianne's friends followed. I was the last kid to enter the fireplace. When I finally stopped spinning, it was to find everyone sitting on the floor in the middle of the living-room, and going through their joke stuff excitedly. I rushed forward to join them. Instead of taking the floo, our parents (except Nicks, who had gone to pick up Noah) must have decided to apparate as they all appeared with one loud pop. They walked past us to the kitchen all talking in low voices.

"Ben, you'd better not be thinking about switching my wand with that one," Brenda said as he whispered something about Brenda to Brianne.

He was holding up one of the fake wands that beat you over the head.

"I'm not," Ben said looking away.

"You're not the best liar," she said. "If you're going to switch my wand, don't do it with one that will hit me!"

Ben just rolled his eyes before he grabbed one of the Edible Dark Marks.

"Think I should give one to Sam?" He asked me.

"It might be kind of mean to make him throw up," I said as I stood up. "You should use that on someone older. Use one of your other joke items on Sam."

Ben nodded before looking through the rest of his joke items. I'd actually spent more there then I'd intended, but I didn't mind. It made Ben happy, and that's all that mattered to me. I still had plenty left over anyway. Mum and dad had paid me well for my work so far that summer.

"Where are you going?" Tasha asked me as I made my way to the kitchen.

"Just to talk to mum and dad," I responded. "I'll be right back."

When I entered the kitchen, it was to find the adults sitting at the kitchen table by the patio door, which was wide open letting in a nice breeze. They had butterbeer and they were talking in low voices about Diagon Alley, and how it was getting worse.

"Yes, dear?" Mum said when she noticed me standing there.

"I just wondered if we're changing the password on the floo," I said. "People probably overheard in The Leaky."

"Already taken care of son," dad told me. "We'll let you lot know what it is later."

"Already?" I asked with surprise.

"We'll be changing it from time to time," mum told me. "We'll let you know on the chalkboards. We did know we'd have to change it as the Leaky Cauldron was full. Your dad took care of it as soon as we got home. We'll be making food soon, but if anyone is thirsty, there are jugs of pumpkin juice in the fridge."

I nodded before leaving the kitchen to let everyone know. I wasn't about to carry all of that out. When I entered the living-room, it was to see that Nick's parents had arrived with baby Noah. He was certainly a lot bigger than the latest pictures Nick had shown us. It was amazing how fast babies grew. Ben was currently holding him while he sat on the couch. Nick's mother was hovering over him.

"Come meet Noah," Nick said when he noticed me. "We let Ben hold him first, but the girls want to go next," and then he glanced at his parents. "Noah will be fine with us mum. I've been taking care of him all summer. We won't drop him."

"Make sure you put all the small things out of reach," Nick's dad said as he pointed to our joke items. "Babies will put anything in their mouths, and Noah is at that age."

"I know dad," Nick said as he rolled his eyes.

The girls quickly moved to put all the joke items up. Nick's dad began making his way to the kitchen, but Nick's mother continued to hover near Ben.

"Mum," Nick said. "He'll be fine."

She let out a sigh before nodding and moving away.

"Just watch out for him, please. When Ben is done, I want someone else to lift him up. He is probably still too heavy for Ben to carry," she said as she followed her husband from the room.

"They are so overprotective," Nick said rolling his eyes. "I've babysat him so many times this summer when mum went out. He's fine and he crawls everywhere now."

"Have you had to change his diaper yet?" Ben asked as he stared down at Noah.

"I'm an expert now," Nick said with a smile.

"Yuck," Hilda said making a face. "I would never want to do that."

"Don't ever have kids or babysit then," Brenda told her as she took a seat beside Ben to get a closer look at Noah. "It comes with having an infant around, and you have to change their diapers many times a day. They also spit up often as well and drool. Babies are messy."

"But I won't mind when I'm an adult," Hilda said and she rolled her eyes. "I just mean now when I am a kid!"

Brenda shook her head as she reached out to touch one of Noah's hands.

"Brianne can take him next," Nick said. "Everyone will get a turn, but we should let him crawl a bit as well. He's a very active baby and he hates being held for too long now that he can crawl. He's already an independent kid, and he's only six months. I bet mum and dad will have their hands full when he is older."

"He's already starting to look like you," Tasha said. "His eyes are your eyes, and so is his smile."

"I should show you some of my baby pictures sometime," he told her. "We almost look like twins, but his ears are bigger and he has a different chin. Before him, I never noticed that kind of thing when it came to babies. I remember hearing parents point that kind of thing out, but I'd always thought all babies looked the same until they were about a year or so."

"I've always known but then again, I grew up with this lot," I said as I smiled at my siblings. Brianne was gently taking Noah from Ben. "I remember trying to see how similar we looked when Ben was about this age."

"He looks so much like you when you were eleven," Tasha said. "I see it every time I come over. I think the only difference is your eye shape, and maybe his cheeks."

"That could change though," Brenda said as she joined us. "He still has baby fat and Barry had it too. Barry has cheekbones now, and Ben likely will too but he still has that kid look to him. I don't think Barry lost his until he was thirteen. They have different noses though. Ben and Brianne have mum's nose while Barry and I have dads. I hate my nose," she added making a face. "It's too big."

"It's hardly noticeable though," Tasha assured her. "You're very pretty."

"Brianne will be prettier though," Brenda said. "Anyway, I am going upstairs in case anyone needs me. I've had enough of Hilda for one day."

She glared over at the blond who was cooing over Noah with Brianne before she turned and left the room. I thought it said a lot since I knew she still wasn't fond of Tasha, and yet she was being friendly to her around Hilda. I saw Hilda stick her tongue out at Brenda's retreating back. I glanced over at Tasha with amusement. There was such a personality clash between the two. She grinned back at me.

"Let's get some pumpkin juice for this lot," I told Nick and Tasha. "I meant to tell everyone when I came in. Mum and dad will be making food soon," and then I looked at Nick as we began to leave the living-room. "Think you could stay over tonight? Brianne's friends are. Isabella's and Harriet's parents only came to help mum and dad with all the kids in Diagon Alley."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Nick answered. "Today is the first time I've been anywhere this summer. I'm still trying to convince mum and dad to let you two come over for a night, but they're still not sure of it. Mum thinks at the moment it's too much with Noah around. I keep reminding her that we're not five and we don't need constant supervision. I'd like for you two to play with him though without all the kids around."

"We'll have time later," I told him. "Just let them now. The girls will want to try their makeup on soon, and Ben will want to play with his joke stuff more. They'll get bored eventually. As long as your parents don't mind staying for a bit longer, we can probably take him up to my room later."

"It's the first time all summer they've been out as well," Nick said. "I think they want to hang out with other parents too."

We entered the kitchen but the adults were no longer inside. I could hear their voices coming in from the patio doors.

"I'll go out and ask them if I can, and how long they plan on staying then," Nick said.

While he did that, Tasha and I went to the fridge to try and grab as much pumpkin juice bottles as we could carry. Nick joined us just as we were shutting the door. He began relieving Tasha of some of the bottles before he took a few from me as well.

"I can stay over," he told us. "And we can take Noah upstairs after dinner. For now, they want him down here but they told me to make sure the girls are careful," he added rolling his eyes. "You'd think we were all little kids instead of all teenagers. Ben is the only one who is too young to be left him. Everyone else is fine."

Everyone was sitting in a circle when we went back into the living-room. Noah was in the middle crawling around. They were calling his name, trying to get him to crawl over to them. I was impressed at how fast he could move. I didn't think Ben had crawled that fast at six months, but perhaps he had. It seemed to be Brianne who he liked as he crawled straight over to her. She pulled him into her lap and he began to giggle. I walked over to join them. I wished our house could always be this full. I'd missed it all summer.


	36. Fifth Part One

The morning of September the first, we boarded the train as usual. I felt very nervous that day, however, as I was off to the prefect's compartment instead of a normal compartment. We all got there quite early as mum and dad wanted to get us on the train as soon as possible. I was surprised they'd driven instead of apparating us that day given their hurry. Nick and his parents showed up early as well. He assured Tasha and I that he would guard our compartment for us, so we disposed of our trunks with him.

Mum hugged each of us twice, and tightly.

"Be on your best behaviour," she told us. "Please just be careful this year."

"I know you always do, but really watch out for your sisters this year," dad said when he hugged me. "Even if you have disagreements with Brenda. Please just forget your differences. There is a lot more at stake right now."

"We'll all be fine," I promised. "And look out for yourselves and Ben please."

Last year, Ben had been quite upset when we'd gone, but he was used to Brianne being gone by that point. He hugged us all before he stood back in the mist. He appeared to be very worried, but I thought it looked as if he was trying to hide it. As soon as he noticed me looking at him, he looked away. I walked over to him and stooped down so that I was close to his level.

"Look out for mum and dad please," I told him as I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't sneak into Hogsmeade this year please," he whispered.

"I won't," I assured him.

"Pinky promise then," he said as he held out his pinky.

I did so without hesitation. I did actually want to again that year since we had some aging potion left, but I wasn't going to break a promise to my little brother. Not during these times. After we hooked pinkies, I hugged him tightly and then stood back up. He grinned up at me, and I turned to head over to the train. Brenda and Brianne were gone, so they must have boarded already. Tasha was waiting for me by the doors.

"What was the pinky promise about?" She asked once I reached her.

"We can't sneak into Hogsmeade this year," I answered.

I glanced over at my parents who stood back with Ben in the middle. They began waving at me. I waved back and then climbed on the train. I had a feeling this was the hardest year for them to let us go. Once on the train, we began making our way through the corridors. It was still relatively early, so once we entered the compartment, it was to find that it was almost empty. There was two sixth year Hufflepuff's there. Though I'd grown up with magic, at times, I still felt amazed by what it could do. From the outside, it looked like the rest, but inside it was widened quite a bit so many people could sit inside comfortably.

"This is amazing," Tasha said with awe as she took a seat.

"Welcome," the sixth year Hufflepuff boy said. "I'm Ernie MacMillan, and this is Hannah Abbott," he added as he pointed to the pretty girl with blond hair beside him.

I smiled at them both.

"I'm Barry Hoofer, and this Tasha Fadden," I responded.

"Your cousin is Chester, isn't he?" Hannah asked, and I nodded.

"He's so handsome," she said with a dreamy expression while Ernie nudged her.

I wasn't all that surprised to hear a girl say that though. I didn't say anything, I just smiled at her and glanced out the window to see more people had arrived. I was feeling really nervous, and I wasn't too sure what to say. Thankfully, Tasha seemed to have me covered. She began a conversation with the two Hufflepuffs. Soon the compartment started filling with more people. I wasn't too happy to see that Olivia had been made the Hufflepuff prefect. Surely there were better options in that house besides her? A boy named Mark was the other Hufflepuff prefect.

I was surprised to see that Ginny Weasley wasn't the girl prefect in Gryffindor. Instead, a girl named Francine who I'd never really talked to entered with Colin Creevey. Colin gave us a small wave as he and Francine took their seats. Brandon Harper was made the Slytherin prefect, which again made me wonder what they were thinking. The idiot would take points away from people on purpose, and Rosita, the girl Gretchen hated, was the other Slytherin prefect. I didn't know her too well, though I'd heard stories that she was a really nice girl, so I gave her a polite smile.

"Barry, Tasha," I heard and I looked away quickly to see Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley entering the compartment.

It was Hermione who had spoken. She was smiling at us as they took a couple of seats across from us.

"I knew you two would be the Ravenclaw prefects," she said happily. "Better than that horrid Gretchen."

"You know Gretchen?" Tasha asked her with raised eyebrows.

"I've had a word or two with her. I thought it would be either you or Luna," Hermione responded.

Ron let out a snort.

"Who would let Luna be prefect?" He asked which earned him a glare from Tasha.

"Luna is quite nice," Tasha told him.

"Never said she wasn't," Ron responded before he turned to Hermione and whispered something to her.

"Maybe," she whispered back before she smiled at us. "I think they made a good choice choosing you two. I know you've wanted that badge for years."

"I thought Ginny would have made prefect," I said this more to Ron than Hermione.

"I don't think she ever wanted it," Ron answered. "She didn't seem too fussed when it didn't come with our letters. Fred and George were never made prefects either, and they're doing quite well."

I did wonder why it was Ron who was the prefect and not Harry Potter. I didn't say this though; I just changed the subject to summer. I did actually have more questions for them, but I couldn't discuss it in the prefect compartment. I wanted to know if they knew more than we knew. Mum and dad hadn't told us anything new. I would wait until we were at the castle before asking, however. We weren't able to talk much longer anyway. The new Head Boy and Girl entered followed by Lance, who I'd forgotten was a prefect, and that dratted Draco Malfoy, and his girlfriend and the meeting began.

I used to think that the prefect meetings were quick, but we were in that compartment quite a while listening to school announcements, what our duties were supposed to be, when prefect meetings would, the primary duties for fifth years, and then the responsibilities for sixth and seventh years. The Head Boy, who was some tall Slytherin boy named Patrick Burke with dark hair, and he droned on and on. Finally, though, he began calling each pair from each house in fifth year.

"Barry Hoofer, Tasha Fadden, from Ravenclaw," he said in without looking up from his parchment. "Patrol the corridors for an hour now, and then again then once and a while on the train until we get there. Remember to hang back to make sure everyone gets off the train before you go. You'll also be leading your first years to your common rooms after the feast. You can go now. Colin Creevey-" he began.

I was more than happy to leave. I got up quickly and left the compartment feeling relieved. I waited outside of it for Tasha to follow.

"I think I have a bad attitude already," Tasha told me as we began our patrol. "I was so bored by the end of that."

"I have the same attitude," I told her. "I'm surprised it wasn't Lance who was chosen as Head Boy. He would likely be more lively."

"He was staring at you the whole time you know," Tasha said. "Maybe he'd forgotten that you'd be prefect now too, but he wouldn't take his eyes off of you."

"Maybe still jealous that I was with Glenda," I said not really caring. "So are we supposed to just walk up and down the corridors? He never really said did he?"

"I think so. I think we need to make sure no one is fighting or doing something stupid," Tasha said. "But we were assigned the back of the train, so I guess that's where we're going."

I had missed that part of his speech, but it had been so hard to follow him. It was like listening to Professor Binns who also spoke in a dull monotone voice. I hoped that the Head Girl would be in charge of the next meetings. I hadn't even caught her name. We continued talking as we made our way to the back of the train. I was feeling really nervous about having authority and the fact that we'd be leading the first years later. What if no one took me seriously? What if the boys in my dorm wanted me to look the other way while they broke the rules? What if they got angry with me for not looking the other way?

"Barry?" Tasha said, and I glanced at her. "What's wrong? I've just asked you the same question three times, and you ignored me."

"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about being a prefect," I explained. "What if no one takes us seriously? What if people like Philip expect me to look away? What if they get angry with me for not-"

"They respect you too much for that," Tasha interrupted. "I admit, I am nervous as well, but they won't be like that. The only one I can see trying anything is Gretchen."

"I've been thinking about this badge before I even started here, but I've never thought of all it entailed," I admitted. "It just seemed like one goal to reach, and now it's here, and I might not be that great."

"We'll help each other," she assured me. "I'm scared about the fact that we're leading the first years to the common room. These kids will be looking to us to guide them. They'll be looking up to us as much as we used to look up to our prefects."

"And we have OWLs this year," I added. "Hang on," I said quickly.

I'd just peered into a compartment to see three second-year boys pointing their wands at each other. Alarmed, I opened the door and stepped inside. All three looked up at me nervously before they put their wands away. Two of them were from Hufflepuff, and one of them was a Gryffindor. Usually, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor houses got along quite well, so I wondered what had happened.

"What's going on?" I asked as I looked at each guilty face.

"Nothing," one of the boys answered looking away.

"It didn't look like nothing," Tasha said. "You looked ready to hex each other. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this."

"They don't think Harry Potter is the Chosen One," the Gryffindor boy accused as he pointed to the two Hufflepuff's.

"It just sounds like a lot fortune telling bollocks," one of the Hufflepuff's said. "Damien just got all defensive and pointed his wand at us when we told him that."

"Yeah," the last boy spoke up. "We never said anything _against_ Harry. We think he could defeat You-Know-Who. We just don't believe any of this Chosen One stuff."

"Chosen One?" Tasha asked me with confusion.

"I'll explain later," I told her before looking at the boys. "But that seems like a silly reason to be pointing your wands at each other. A disagreement is one thing, but you were ready to hex each other which is against the rules."

"He started it!" The first Hufflepuff boy said with annoyance. "We were just defending ourselves. Damien pointed his wand at us first."

"But I'm afraid that it's still against the rules," Tasha said gently. "And we'll have to report you for fighting. Names please, and we'll have to let your Head of Houses know."

The two Hufflepuff boys glared at Damien from Gryffindor before muttering their names. Tasha made a note on a piece of parchment before we turned and exited. My heart was pounding quite fast. I wasn't sure if we'd handled that correctly or not. Should we have given them detention or taken house points away? I whispered all this to Tasha once we were out of earshot.

"I don't know Barry," she said. "I don't think it was detention worthy since they didn't actually cast any spells. Maybe we should have deducted points though?"

"I wish Chester or Ralph were still here," I said with a sigh. "They'd know how to advise us. Maybe we botched up our first prefect duty."

"Well, there is someone who knows," Tasha said, and she nodded to ahead of us where Hermione and Ron were whispering together.

When we approached them, I thought I heard Ron muttering something about Draco Malfoy not even doing prefect duties. I wasn't too surprised to hear that, and I didn't really care either. I just walked over to the two who stopped talking the moment we reached them. Tasha quickly explained what we'd seen and asked them if we'd done the right thing or not.

"To be honest, a lot of it is how you feel they should be punished, we have some guidelines we have to follow, but you usually go with your instinct," Hermione said. "If you don't feel that they should lose house points or be in detention over it, then you probably made the right call. That doesn't mean you can show favouritism for your friends though."

"Okay, but how would you have handled it then?" I asked her.

"They didn't actually hex each other, so we'd likely do the same," Hermione said as she glanced at Ron who just nodded. "But I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure."

"I don't think they were actually going to hex each other," Tasha offered. "I mean, even if we weren't there, I think they would have just pointed their wands at each other. I do wonder if we should have at least given the Gryffindor boy detention since he did start it. Maybe we made the completely wrong call."

"You'll learn as you go," Hermione told her kindly. "We need to get going, but feel free to keep asking us for advice. That includes your OWLs. We'll see you two later."

The two of them moved on, and Tasha and I glanced at each other. I sure hoped she was right. Being a prefect was one of the most important things I was going to do that year. I wanted to get it right. Tasha finally smiled at me, and then took my hand and led me down the corridor. We continued to look for any trouble-makers, even longer than the hour we'd been assigned. Finally, however, we found the compartment Nick had reserved for us and joined him and the rest of the fifth year boys.

"So how was it?" Nick asked as soon as we sat down.

"The meeting was boring, but we have quite a bit to do," Tasha responded. "We have to lead the first years back later."

"Put any troublemakers in detention then?" Philip asked.

"No, but we did find some second years ready to curse each other," I told him. "But all of you do know that if we have to, we'll put you in detention. We won't want to do it, but for some things, we may not have a choice."

"I can't see you abusing your powers like _some_ members of your family," Darren said.

"Will you be as cool as your cousins and help us sneak into Hogsmeade?" Ivan asked.

Tasha and I exchanged looks. Usually, I wouldn't mind but what if we allowed them to and something terrible happened? It was a lot more dangerous than it had been the last two years. I honestly wasn't sure what to do in this situation.

"Well, we won't be joining you," I finally said. "I promised Ben I wouldn't. I'm just worried if we allowed you to go, and something happened to you. It's not exactly that I don't want to."

"They might be covered up this year anyway," Tasha said. "I think Patrick did say that, but we'll find out for you."

"Look, I always thought I could be one of those prefects that my cousins were, and I'd like to be," I began. "But with You-Know-Who back, it might be best if you don't tell me that kind of thing. I don't want to see any of you get attacked when you don't need to be. If I do put you in detention, it's not because I am being a git."

"You know what?" Philip responded. "That is completely understandable mate. We won't put you in that position then. And Tasha is probably right anyway. It probably is covered up."

"But just say I'm about five minutes outside of curfew," Kevin said laughing. "Am I going to be writing lines?"

"As long as you're not taking advantage of us, we aren't going to put you in detention for small things," Tasha told him with a small smile. "So it would be best if you tried not to be late for curfew."

"We're not going to have time this year anyway," Darren said. "We were just talking about OWLs before you two arrived. This year is going to be a nightmare. We've known for years that this was coming and it's finally here."

"I just hope we have a normal Defense teacher," Nick said. "If it's someone useless, my parents still might pull me out. We're going to be behind as it is."

The Trolley Cart showed up at that moment, which I was relieved about. I hadn't eaten too much breakfast that day. I'd been worried about leaving Ben, and I'd been thinking about being a prefect, so I'd picked at it. Now I was ravenous, so I jumped up to buy what I could. I ended up getting two of everything. Lately, I'd been hungry a lot. Mum often said it was because I was a growing boy, but I wondered if it was normal to be this hungry all the time. As soon as I grabbed everything, I sat back and got into the chocolate frogs.

* * *

The boys didn't mind taking our trunks back with them while we stayed back to supervise everyone. It was even chillier at Hogwarts. Dad had once said it was because the Dementors were breeding, and I worried that meant they were close to the school. It was bad enough having them there back in second year. I didn't want them back, and they were no longer under the Ministries orders. What if they tried to attack random kids? They'd been going after people during the summer.

I was glad to see that no one wasted time to get off the train. Everyone seemed to want to get going, but I didn't see Hagrid anywhere to lead the first years to the boats. They were all gathered together, looking around nervously, so Tasha and I hung back until we finally heard his booming voice calling for them. By that point, most of the carriages were taking off. Thankfully, there were a couple left when we finally caught up.

"I wonder why Hagrid was late," Tasha said. "It's not a good idea to leave the first years alone right now!"

"He'll have a good reason," I said as we climbed into the remaining carriage.

There were a few third years in this one. They glanced at us nervously, but they didn't say anything. Tasha and I stayed quiet as well as it began moving to the castle. I was already hungry, and I began to wonder again if it was normal to be so hungry all the time. At times it could be really annoying, especially when I had to wait. At least at home, I could eat when I wanted. Maybe I needed to visit the hospital wing. Maybe I'd caught some kind of worm or something.

When we exited the carriage, it was to find a line of students spilling outside the Entrance Hall doors. I found this curious as usually, people rushed in as soon as they climbed the stairs. We were in a line for a few minutes before we finally reached the top. It was there when we realized why everyone was lined up. Filch was checking each person and their trunks as they entered with a secrecy sensor. I hated being close to the man, and so when I stood before him, I looked away as he ran the thing over me. Not finding anything, he let me go ahead. I stepped back to wait for Tasha and then we hurried into the Great Hall. Down the table, we found the fifth years all sitting together. Nick had saved seats for us.

"Took you two long enough," Nick said as soon we sat down.

"Hagrid wasn't there right away to lead the first years," I explained. "And then there was a lineup. Do they really think kids are going to sneak dangerous things inside?"

"Some people were bringing odd things in," Philip said. "Some big Slytherin had a shrunken head taken away. Guess they can't be too careful."

As late as we were, it took longer for the first years to get there, and I knew it was because Hagrid had been late. We were discussing what security measures would be on the castle when they were finally brought in. The Great Hall quieted down as they were led in. Though every new class was scared when they first arrived, I thought this latest class seemed to be the most scared. I was just glad none of my siblings were apart of them this time. I hoped everything would back to normal when Ben finally came. While he wanted the time to go quick, I wanted it to go slow so he could keep his innocence. He knew the war was happening, but he still wouldn't experience it the way we were. At least I hoped he wouldn't.

Just as it did the year before, the hat began singing about us uniting together. The song wasn't as long as the year before, but it still told us that we needed to get along even though it was dividing us. This year, people didn't talk after the hat sang though. I supposed we all expected it this year. Instead, McGonagall was able to call up each name right away. I always clapped for our Ravenclaws, but I made sure to clap loud that year. I tried to memorize each one as they were sorted. It was actually a long line that year. It seemed more than usual, and I wondered why that was. I'd thought our year had seemed big, but I believed theirs was even bigger. Normally you could expect a class of at least forty, and maybe a little more or less but I thought there were at least fifty or more that year.

"Sometimes parents homeschool their kids," Nick muttered to me when I whispered my observation. "Everyone knows that Hogwarts is one of the safest places to be. Maybe more people sent their kids this year to keep them safe. Maybe it was just a baby boom that year. That does happen sometimes, and they were born about four years after You-Know-Who was gone. I expect when he's gone again, there will be another."

I nodded figuring that explained it because the years had grown a bit after mine while the older years had lower. I did wonder why my year had quite a bit since most of my classmates were born just before his downfall.

The final student was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then Dumbledore told us all to tuck in. I'd expected a speech right away, but I supposed he was saving that for later. I was just relieved about the plates filling with food. I began to help myself while chatter broke around us. Gretchen started to bothering Luna because not only had she sat with Harry on the train, but she'd also fought with him at the Ministry the year before. Luna didn't seem to want to talk about it though.

"Leave her alone," I snapped as Gretchen continued to harass her.

"What are you going to do?" Gretchen snapped back. "Put me in detention?"

"If you keep harassing her I will," I stated. "And that goes for anyone who has been stealing her stuff and hiding it. That ends now! It shouldn't have been going on for this long anyway. I don't want to hear about it happening anymore."

"You won't," Gretchen said, but as she looked away, I thought I heard: " _Hear about it._ "

I glared over at her, but Tasha quickly put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll talk to them later," she whispered.

For the rest of the meal, Gretchen would glare at me every once and a while, but she didn't say anything else. She kept quiet until Harry Potter suddenly entered the Great Hall, walking really fast. It wasn't just the fact that he was late, but he was still in muggle clothes, and he had blood all over this face. Had something happened already? I could see some people standing up to get a better look at him.

"What could have happened already?" Ivan asked as Harry sat down with his friends.

"Maybe he just got hit," Nick said. "It can't be anything really dangerous, or we'd know. You two didn't see anything after you left the train did you?" He added to Tasha and me.

We both shook our heads.

"Everyone got off, or at least it looked like they did, and we stayed behind because Hagrid wasn't there right away," I said. "But look, there is Snape as well. He's late too. Why were they all late?"

"Maybe it's something they'll tell us later," Tasha said looking at me.

"if it's important," I said.

The food disappeared, and dessert appeared, which I happily tucked into. Gretchen was complaining about Tasha and I acting like hot shots, but I did my best to ignore her. Tasha was right; she was the one who would test us the most. For the time being, I wasn't going to say anything, but she would learn fast that she couldn't keep this up.

Once dessert was over, Dumbledore stood up to give the announcements. Right away, as he began speaking, we all noticed that something was wrong with his right hand. It had turned black at some point over the summer. I thought it looked dead, and I wondered if he'd been part of some really dark magic. He must have been trying to stop You-Know-Who or one of his followers. He noticed everyone's distraction as people began murmuring about it.

"Nothing to worry about," he told us and then continued on to welcome us back.

Nick, Tasha, and I smirked at each other when he mentioned that Filch had banned any products from the Weasley's joke shop. As he began the Quidditch announcements, I was sure I heard Gretchen whisper that we'd be on her back since she'd bought some. I tried my best not to be annoyed. I just focused on Dumbledore instead. Tasha planned to talk to her, so I hoped she'd get through to her. Dumbledore said something next that even distracted Gretchen. He welcomed the newest teacher, who I hadn't noticed until that moment as Professor Slughorn. We'd all assumed he would be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he was taking over the Potion's position. Around us, people began questioning this.

"So who is the Defense-" Kevin began, but before he could finish, Dumbledore continued by announcing that Snape would take over the Defense position.

"Snape?" Gretchen hissed. "Great, that's a step up for our OWL year."

In a way, I disagreed. I hated the man considering he didn't want me to succeed, and all he saw me as was a show-off. However, I believed he'd be a better teacher than our previous ones. He would actually be able to help us with our OWLs, and hopefully, he would catch us up. People could say what they wanted about him, but he was probably one of the better ones. The Slytherins were cheering while others weren't even clapping. Trying to look good, I decided to applaud as well.

Around me, everyone was talking about the latest news. Dumbledore didn't even seem bothered by this; he just waited a few moments before he continued. This time, he began talking about You-Know-Who as I expected he would earlier, only he used his name. I still jumped whenever I heard the name, but thankfully I wasn't the only one. Gretchen knocked a glass of water right into her lap. Dumbledore continued on, letting us know that security on the castle had strengthened over the summer. Though he didn't say it, I expected that meant the secret passages as well. He warned us all to abide by all of it, and not to go out after hours.

Finally, he bid us good night. Tasha and I jumped up quickly to lead the first years.

"First years," Tasha said. "All first years, line up here please!"

Brianne gave me the thumbs up as she walked past with her friends. Everyone else began to leave while we made sure all the first years were there.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw," I said as the first years made a line as they walked over to us.

I'd noticed that they were smaller than us since third year, but I thought they seemed particularly tiny that year. Had I been that small four years ago?

"Hmm there seems to be a lot of you," Tasha said. "Could you divide up in two lines? And then we'll continue."

The first years divided up into two lines, and I couldn't help but smile as boys lined up in one line, and the girls stayed in the other.

"We're going to show you the most direct path to our common room," I continued.

"And on the way, we'll also show you some shortcuts. Feel free to come to us any time to learn about them," Tasha said. "Are you lot ready?"

Tasha was born for this; I decided as we began leading them out. I explained what I could to them, but she pointed out small things that I'd never noticed as we made our way through the corridors. There was apparently a crack in the wall underneath a portrait right by the steps that would take us closest to the seventh floor. I never had, in the four years of being there, noticed that. I grinned over at her as she continued with her observations. At the top of the steps, she pointed out one of the portraits had always been on a slant, once again, it was something I hadn't ever noticed.

We continued showing them the way until we finally reached our tower. There, we let them go up first. The first years looked confused, but they did as we asked. We followed behind them. We'd discussed this bit on the train. We weren't going to tell them how to get in the Ravenclaw common room right away. We were going to let one of them knock, and try to answer first before we did. Tasha did continue to point out her observations as we went up the steps.

"So who wants to knock?" I asked as I pointed to the eagle knocker.

The first years all glanced at each other, and then one small, brave red-haired boy who I thought might have been named Anthony stepped forward and then knocked.

The voice asked: "What gets wetter the more it dries?"

"Erm..." Anthony began before looking at us helplessly. "I don't get it. I thought there was a password."

"To get into Ravenclaw tower, you have to answer the question correctly," I told him.

"What happens if we don't?" A small blond girl asked. I thought her name might have been Chelsea.

"Then you wait for someone who can," Tasha responded. "It's how you learn."

"Do you know the answer, Anthony?" I asked him hoping I was right about his name.

"Er- it gets wet as it dries..." he said slowly, and I was relieved I'd gotten the same right. "Uh- a towel?" He finally answered sounding uncertain.

"That is correct," the voice told him, and the door swung open.

Anthony beamed excitedly before entering. We let all the first years go in before we followed. All of them were looking around in awe. Some were making loud explanations as they took it all in.

"So now let's find your dorms," Tasha said as she stepped forward. "Believe me; you'll get to know the common room really well over the next seven years. Now we just have to show you your dorms so that you can go to bed. You'll want to be well rested for classes tomorrow. Girls, follow me."

"And boys follow me," I said glad that they'd stayed in their groups.

Tasha led the girls over to the door first and led them in while I waited a few seconds before taking the boys. Once we were in the entrance, I glanced around at them all, remembering how our prefects had offered to stay behind for us the next day.

"We'll get up early to wait for you tomorrow," I told them all. "If you need help getting back to the Great Hall, we'll show you how to get there. Though Tasha did give you some really great directions on the way," I added as I grinned at her. "Now come on boys, our staircase is here. You're lucky. I believe your dorm is just up the first flight, so you won't have far to go."

I was sure that Chester's and Ralph's dorm was the very first one, though I'd never actually been in it before. I'd never paid attention to the others before this. However, as we reached the top of the first spiraling case of steps, we stopped outside of a dorm that said: 'First Years' on the outside.

"There you are," I told them. "Have a good night, and I'll see you in the morning."

I waited until they'd all gone into their dorm before I hurried up to my dorm. I felt that we'd done an excellent job, at least I was hoping we had. Tasha had done the best in my opinion.


	37. Fifth Year Part Two

The next morning, I got up earlier than the alarm so I could go down and meet the first years. I tried to be as quiet as possible so that I wouldn't wake anyone else up. Ivan began muttering in his sleep when I accidentally shut my trunk too loud. I froze for a moment and watched him apprehensively. At times, the others could be really grumpy when they woke up, and I expected him to yell at me for waking him an hour before the alarm. However, he just rolled over and fell back to sleep. I tip-toed into the bathroom where I washed up quickly and then dressed. When I returned to the dorm, Ivan was snoring really loud. _Has he always snored that loud?_ I wondered. It was something I'd never noticed before.

I quickly put my things away more quietly, and then left the room. I was relieved once I was in the common room, and I could make some noise. I glanced around the common room, and as always, found it odd when it was this quiet and empty. I walked over to the table that we usually tried to sit at and took a seat. I figured I could go over my notes while I waited for the first years to come down. I knew this was likely the last free moment I would have that year. By the end of the day, I would probably have at least a weeks worth of homework. I opened Potions first since it was my best class, all the while wondering how Slughorn would be as a teacher. Would he actually notice my accomplishments? He was a big man, but he'd looked friendly, so I hoped he was different from Snape.

"I expected to find you down here."

I looked up startled as I hadn't heard anyone come into the common room. It was just Tasha smiling down at me. She took a seat and sighed.

"I think I woke Gretchen, so she's probably going to be a nightmare today," Tasha told me as she began taking out her notes. "More than usual, I mean."

"I almost woke Ivan up, but he went back to sleep," I told her. "I kind of wonder if she's jealous."

"Almost all the girls were hoping for this badge," Tasha told me as she pointed at her badge. "I think only Luna didn't care. Katrina and Samaira are happy for me, but Gretchen most certainly isn't. She has the grades for it too, but I think the teachers must have realized she wouldn't have the disposition for it. Though it makes me wonder how people like Draco or Brandon got it."

"Out of his year, Draco probably does have the better grades, but I'm not sure about ours. I always thought it would be Carter. He's the most pleasant one, and his marks are decent," I said.

"Well, the Head of Houses make the decisions," Tasha said. "Perhaps Snape likes to choose the most awful people. Didn't Patrick say we wouldn't always be patrolling together? Sometimes we'd be doing patrol with other prefects too? It'd be awful to be stuck with him!"

"I just hope I'm not stuck with Olivia," I said realizing she was right.

I remembered Ralph mentioning that to me a couple of years ago. They wanted all the prefects to get along, and it was something about uniting the houses, so at times a prefect was paired with someone from another house and another year. Perhaps I'd get to patrol with Hermione or Ron though. I'd be able to find things out that mum and dad weren't telling me. I figured it'd be easier to talk to Hermione than Ron since we barely knew each other.

"Have you two even talked since second year?" Tasha asked me pushing her hair behind her ear. She picked up a quill and began looking over an essay.

"Nope, and I only will if I have to," I said. "I've had no desire to, and she hasn't changed. She got jealous of someone's sister again. I don't understand what is wrong with her. You know, it was mad in second year, but she was twelve. This just happened over the summer."

"How do you know that?" Tasha asked.

"I heard Darren and Kevin talking about last night when I went to bed," I explained. "They were talking about girls who got hot over the summer, and they mentioned her."

"Who else did they mention?" Tasha asked setting down her quill.

I grinned at her knowing why she was asking that. I was sure it was likely a topic the girls discussed as well. Usually, every year when we came back to school, the guys would discuss who had gotten hotter over the summer. Last night, it had been a bit more detailed. I'd joined in of course, though I'd grown silent when they'd mentioned Tasha. What was odd to me was that none of them had noticed her hair except Nick, obviously. How hadn't they noticed? When it came to Tasha, I noticed all the small changes, even when she changed her nail polish colour.

"Yes, they mentioned you," I laughed. "They talked about almost all the girls, even Gretchen."

"She has grown into her looks," Tasha said beaming, but I thought her smile was more about the fact that she'd been noticed, and it had nothing to do with Gretchen. "She's gotten cute, and so has Darren. Actually, he's getting quite handsome. Amazing thing puberty is, isn't it?"

I wasn't sure I agreed with that. I'd been finding the whole thing to be awkward and sometimes embarrassing. I was looking forward to when it would be done. I'd been hoping it would be done by now, but I was still going through it. The only thing I liked about it was that I noticed I was finally sprouting some hair on my face. Dad had planned to teach me that summer to shave, but he'd mentioned that he'd likely have to wait until Christmas. I sure hoped I wouldn't have a full beard by then. I wanted hair on my face, but nothing too wild.

I did have to admit; puberty was doing wonderful things when it came to girls, especially the girl across from me.

"And what about me?" I asked her.

"You already know that you look good," she told me rolling her eyes. "You don't need me stroking your ego. You'll get that enough this year as it is I imagine. Gretchen may even be there to help. The boys weren't the only ones talking about who is hot or not. And you think she's cute now."

I made a face at that. While she wasn't nearly awkward looking as she used to be, I still wasn't attracted to her. Even if I did find her good-looking, I didn't want anything to do with her. I just put up with her because I didn't have a choice. I expected once I was done Hogwarts, I would never talk to her again. At least I hoped I would never have to speak to her again.

"Not really," I said. "It was Philip actually who brought it up. Darren thinks she is still ugly, but that's probably because he dated her. I don't care what she looks like; I can't stand the-"

"Ahem!"

Both Tasha and I jumped. It sounded almost like Umbridge. There were many times the year before when she would cough or make that sound. Turning, however, we saw that it was just a couple of first-year girls. They were smiling at us.

"Er- hi," one with long black hair who I couldn't place said. "Sorry to interrupt your... um, fascinating conversation, but we don't remember the way to the Great Hall."

"But we think you're cute Barry," the other who was wearing her brown hair in pigtails said.

Both began to giggle.

For once, this didn't seem to annoy Tasha. She began to giggle as well.

"We'll just wait for the others," I said with a smile.

"Meanwhile, we can keep talking about how cute you are," the brunette said before laughing again.

"I'd rather not," I said feeling awkward.

These girls weren't that much older than Ben, and it just seemed odd. It had been uncomfortable the year before with Hilda as it was. It was still embarrassing when she did it.

"I'm sure you two have school-related questions for us," Tasha interjected. "And you can remind us of your names."

"I'm Susie," the girl with brown hair said. "And she's Margaret. So are you two dating?"

"We're just friends, and we'd rather not discuss... personal matters with you," I said quickly. "You're eleven, and I'm going to be sixteen soon."

"I'll be twelve December thirty-first. I was _almost_ a New Years baby, you know. I was born so close to midnight!" Margaret said.

"She seems to think that is something to be proud of," Susie said. "It was the first thing she told me on the train yesterday. And it wasn't close to midnight; she was born at seven at night."

"It was five hours from midnight," Margaret said.

"Either way, we're your prefects," I said as Susie looked ready to argue back. "We're here to help you out when it comes to school. We don't need to discuss, well, personal matters with you."

"My older sister was a prefect in her day," Susie said. "She was friends with some of the younger years."

I glanced over at Tasha hoping she'd help. In a way, Susie had a point. My cousins had always tried to befriend the younger students, but I didn't want these eleven-year-old girls flirting with me. Where did they get their confidence anyway? I'd never been that confident at their age. Girls had scared me still, and I'd been so nervous about the girls I'd tried to talk to.

"We'll be happy to be friends with you, but it's best to talk about age-appropriate topics," Tasha responded. "And you're making Barry uncomfortable. He doesn't want you two flirting with him. He just doesn't want to hurt your feelings. You should be doing that with boys your own age. Now, if you need dating advice for boys around your age, you can come to me anytime."

Susie and Margaret looked at each other before looking at me.

"We're sorry," Susie said looking at me. "We didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We know you're too old for us. We were just joking around."

"It's just, I mean, you two _were_ talking about who is cute and who isn't before we interrupted," Margaret added. "We'll stop though. I do have questions about Ravenclaw. My sister was in Hufflepuff."

I was so relieved they changed the topic. We were still answering their questions when the rest of the first years began to show up. When they were all there, we put our books away, got up, and led them from the common room. The first years were a lot more talkative than the night before. It seemed most of them had questions. Only one girl was quiet, and she appeared to trail from the others, so I had to keep looking back to make sure she was still part of the crowd. I wondered if she was shy as she kept her head down.

"So, when will you show us the secret passages?" Susie asked.

She was the most talkative out of all of them. She certainly was a confident little thing.

"Once you lot know this way better," Tasha said. "It's best to know the most direct way. You don't want to get lost. Perhaps you'll even find some on your own. We did. Maybe this weekend I can show you the first one I found."

"There's no maybe about it!" Susie responded excitedly.

Tasha grinned over at me. Susie continued to dominate the conversation until we reached the Great Hall. We led them over to the Ravenclaw table.

"This is where we leave you," I told them once I noticed the fifth years in the middle of the table. "We're going to join our year. Remember to ask one of us for help at any time. Professor Flitwick will be handing out your timetables soon."

"Talk to you lot later," Tasha added.

I think Susie and Margaret looked a little put out that we were leaving them, but the other first years didn't seem to care. They all began taking seats. Tasha and I headed over to the fifth years. While I wanted to be friendly the way my cousins were, I was hoping they wouldn't follow us around too much. I also hoped the one little girl would talk more to her peers. When I looked back, it was to see she was just staring down at the table while the others spoke.

"One of them might be shy," I told Tasha once we were out of their earshot. "We might have to look out for her. We don't want more Luna's."

"Luna hasn't exactly been shy, but I know what you mean. It would be awful to be here with no friends. We'll keep an eye on her, and if she is still on her own at the end of the week, I'll talk to her. It might be better for an older girl to help her," Tasha said. "Luna might have found a friend if our prefects had been more helpful, although I have always tried to befriend her."

"She seems to be opening up to you, and the Gryffindors more," I said.

We took seats with the others just as Professor Flitwick came around with our new timetables. After he handed them out, I began filling my plate.

"Thanks for waking me up," Gretchen snapped at Tasha once he was gone. "Thanks to you, I am going to be tired on the first day, and we get loads of homework. Couldn't wait to snog Barry in secret or something?"

"Don't start," Philip responded. "Can you ever go a whole day without being a bitch? They got up early so they could lead the first years down. Now shut up."

Gretchen glared at him, but for once she listened. Perhaps none of them would have minded if I'd accidentally woken them after all. I was glad when the chatter changed to our classes. We had Slughorn first thing, so we were going to be able to see what kind of teacher he was. We wouldn't have Snape until the next day, which I was relieved about. While I knew he'd be a better teacher than Umbridge, I wasn't looking forward to him commenting on how I was such a show-off.

"Wonder what Slughorn will be like," Katrina said. "They must have been hard up for teachers again. I mean, I've heard Dumbledore hasn't wanted to give Snape the Defense position, and yet he pulled Slughorn out of retirement so Snape could be the Defense teacher. Odd, isn't it?"

"As long as we don't have Umbridge back, I don't care if it's Filch teaching it," Philip said. "Slughorn isn't bad though. I remember dad talking about him. He's always been fat."

"That's not nice," Tasha said.

"Well, he is fat," Darren said. "Looks like his robes barely fit."

They weren't wrong. I didn't say anything because it seemed to be the wrong thing for a prefect to say, but it appeared his robes couldn't contain his vast body. Likely, my parents had him as well, but I couldn't remember them mentioning him. I'd have to ask them later. I just ate breakfast while Tasha argued that it was still a vulgar thing to say. Philip and Darren just winked at her before finishing up their own breakfast. Nick was beside me and laughing.

"Immaturity," Tasha muttered and began eating.

* * *

When we arrived in the Potion's classroom, we decided to take seats close to the front. Slughorn wasn't there yet. I was just taking my notes out when he entered the class. He went to the front as everyone was taking their seats.

"Welcome fifth years!" He said enthusiastically. "As you know, I am Professor Slughorn. Before we begin any potion making today, I would like to advise you about your OWLs-"

And then he turned to the blackboard. He had to stand back a bit because his belly was so huge. I tried not to laugh knowing it would annoy Tasha. Beside me, Nick was hiding his mouth behind his hands as he began to snigger. I tried my hardest to focus on the words he was writing as he spoke about our OWLs. I wondered if he'd ever erased the blackboard with his belly by accident. I leaned over to whisper this to Nick who snorted loudly.

"Everything okay?" Slughorn asked as he turned to look at us.

He was grinning, so he must not have been to upset. Nick was wiping tears from his eyes as he did so.

"Not at all sir," Nick responded as he tried to contain his laughter.

"So, as I was saying, your OWLs are one of the most important examinations you'll ever take. I'll do my best this year-" Slughorn was saying and turned back to the blackboard.

I knew if it had been Snape, we'd have lost at least ten points from Ravenclaw. Slughorn, however, seemed amused by it. He continued writing on the blackboard. He was making a list of potions that we should be able to brew by the time we would sit our OWLs.

"We'll make some potions you've already made later this year," Slughorn told us. "Just to refresh it in your minds. Now, if you'll pull out your Intermediate Potion Making books, you'll turn to page one hundred and seven. You'll find the Aging Potion which is what we'll be brewing today. We'll test it next class, and if you've made it properly, we should be able to age you. If not, I'll have the antidote ready. You should have most of the ingredients to brew this but if not, I have it up here in the store cupboard, and I have some wine and prune juice up here."

"Hoofer!" Philip called from the back of the classroom causing the others to start laughing, including the girls.

I wanted to turn around and send the tickling spell at him. I couldn't believe he actually called me out in class.

"Hoofer?" Slughorn asked as he gazed around the classroom. His eyes fell on me after a few moments. "You'll be Richard Hoofer's boy, aren't you? I expect you are an excellent potion maker as well. Your father used to volunteer in my classes with the younger years."

"Yes sir," I responded.

"I always like your father as well as your mother. Got him some connections at the Ministry, and I see you've made prefect this year," he continued, and then he clapped his huge hands together. "Now let's get started, and I'll take the rest of roll call."

As he moved on, I turned in my seat to look at Philip who just gave me the thumbs up.

"Well, this should be easy for you," Nick said as I turned back around in my seat. "Maybe you'll finally be a favourite in this class."

I was delighted that this was our first potion, and unlike with Snape, I did want to impress Slughorn. It wasn't only because he seemed to expect me to do well. I couldn't explain it, except maybe because Nick had a point. I did want a teacher to recognize my abilities and not criticize me. Slughorn didn't seem to be that type. Already two students had been disruptive, and he hadn't care. There was no way Philip could have yelled my last name in Snape's class. Snape likely would have blamed me for Philip's outburst, and had put me in detention along with taking away fifty points or something.

"This looks hard," Tasha said as she went over it. "You brewed this two years ago?"

"It's not hard," I assured her.

Eagerly, I began working on the potion, only this time I was allowed to make it. I was glad I didn't have to make it in the loos that day. Around me, everyone was pulling out ingredients and whispering together. I looked over at Brandon Harper who seemed as determined as me. He wasn't even talking to Carter, who he usually spoke to during class. He was another brilliant potions maker, and part of that made me wonder if that's why Snape made him prefect. He and I had been competing since the first year, but I'd always been the better one.

"Whoever makes the best potion today will receive one of Honey Dukes finest chocolate bars," Slughorn called after he was finishing the roll call.

That seemed to make people even more excited. At another table, Gretchen and Samaira began cramming ingredients into their cauldrons though they hadn't even heated the wine and prune juice yet. I shook my head and got up to get the proper amount of each liquid. Tasha and Nick seemed to want to follow my lead, because they got up to follow me.

I tried to ignore them as the class went on. Someone had most definitely made the potion wrong as all I could smell was something foul. I couldn't even explain it, but it was making my nose hurt.

"By this point, your potion should be a milky white colour," Slughorn called out close to the end, as he began peering into cauldrons.

Beside me, Tasha's potion was the right colour but it was the wrong consistency while Nick's was lilac, but it was the right consistency. I expected he hadn't boiled it slowly. Slughorn peered into Gretchen's cauldron and then backed up coughing loudly. I wondered if she was the one making the smell.

"You didn't put in the wine and prune juice first," he said backing away.

"Well, it wasn't explained properly!" Gretchen snapped.

"My dear, it's the first line in the book," Slughorn responded. "Just put what you've made into your vial and hand it in. Now, Miss Khatri, it seems you've copied your friend. In this class, it should be our own work."

"Sir, she copied me," Samaira said quickly as Gretchen glared at her.

"That may be, but from now, please just focus on your own work, both of you," Slughorn answered and then moved on.

He came to our table next.

"Seems you didn't put in enough of the crushed tortoiseshell Miss Fadden," he said as he peered into Tasha's cauldron. "But excellent work. Now Mr. Hoofer, let's see if you're a chip off the old block," Slughorn said as he peered into my cauldron. He beamed at me and then clapped his hands. "Excellent, excellent! It's near perfect, in fact, I'd say it is. I imagine if we tried some of this, it would work exactly the way it should! I don't believe there would be any side effects." He moved onto Nick's cauldron next. "Great work Mr. Lawrence! You didn't boil the prune and wine long enough, but I'd say this might work still."

He moved from our desk onto Brandon's and Carter's next. I watched holding my breath hoping that he hadn't made it as well.

"Nice start Mr. Harper but not nearly as good as Mr. Hoofer's."

I let my breath out. It wasn't so much the chocolate bar I wanted, and I did want it, I just wanted to beat him in this class as well. I quickly put my potion in a vial as Slughorn continued checking everyone's cauldron. I liked Slughorn already, and it was only one class. I did not miss Snape at all, and I was relieved I had a teacher who cared for my work for once in this class.

"Well, it was an excellent attempt by all of you," Slughorn said making his way to the front of the class. "But our winner is Barry Hoofer! The rest of you can label your vials and bring them up. We'll test them next class, and don't worry if yours isn't done properly. I have the antidote-" beside me, Nick snorted again. "It shouldn't poison any of you," he added with a smile at Nick, "but this potion can have some nasty side-effects if not brewed properly. Once you're done, clean up. I look forward to seeing you all next class. We won't have any homework today, but don't get used to this as it will be assigned next class. You're in OWL year, so don't take it for granted!"

Once we left the class, I went straight over to Philip who was arguing about something with Gretchen.

"Glad you felt the need to call me out in class," I told him.

I had my wand concealed in my robe sleeve. Philip turned to look me with a smirk.

"Oh come on mate, he'd probably be impressed if I told him," he said. "He'd probably-"

But he didn't say whatever it was that he was about to say because he was suddenly doubled over in giggles.

"Dirty pool mate and you're a prefect!" He choked out.

I took the spell off and shrugged.

"Yes, well, I didn't see anything," I told him and began walking away.

"Can't put me in detention if I retaliate!" Philip called after me.

"Barry, you need to be careful about that," Tasha said as she and Nick caught up with me. "Harper was watching you, and I'm sure he's angry that you beat him today."

"He'd need to prove it, and Philip won't say anything," I responded with a shrug. "It's not as if I'm going to hex anyone in the corridors Tasha. Neither Ralph or Chester ever-"

"But you're not your cousins Barry," she interrupted.

I didn't respond. For the first time in memory, she was annoying me. I knew she meant well, and I knew I had to show an excellent example to others, but all I did was put my friend under the tickling jinx. We hadn't been dueling in the halls, and in my opinion, I hadn't done anything wrong. All I'd done was tickle him for calling me out in Potion's class. Tasha could be right about a lot of things, but at times she could be too much. This was one of those times, and I believed she was going too far by telling me that I wasn't Chester, Ralph or even Garth. I didn't need someone lecturing me all the time.

"Tasha, all he did was put the tickling jinx on Philip," Nick said. "You both said you weren't going to get overly strict. Isn't this one of those times?"

"Personally, I don't care if he does," Tasha replied. "But Harper will. All I'm saying is to be careful because it can be seen as horseplay and horseplay in the corridors isn't allowed. I just don't want to see him lose his badge."

I still didn't say anything to her. I was still feeling annoyed even if she meant well.

* * *

The rest of our teachers weren't as considerate Slughorn. By the end of the day, we had more homework than we'd had the first week of classes last year. McGonagall had assigned the most out of everyone. I supposed it meant she was feeling better at least. She'd lost her limp at any rate. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage all of this on top of patrol which we had that night. By that point, my annoyance with Tasha was gone.

She seemed rather quiet that night while we walked together through the corridors. I wondered if she was upset with me instead. For the first time since meeting her, I wasn't sure what to say, so I remained quiet while we walked together.

"I think I'll do the last of patrol alone," Tasha said after a while. "I'll see you back in the common room."

As I said sure, she turned and walked off quickly. I figured she must have been upset, but I wasn't going to chase her at the moment. I just turned in the opposite direction and peeked into secret passages I knew of as I went. We were supposed to be looking out for random snoggers who usually frequented the hidden passages. There were many different places in the castle where one could hide to do so. As I peeked behind a tapestry, I wondered what it would be like to take Tasha in there during one our patrols.

As much as I wanted to continue to deny it, I knew I no longer could. I fancied my best friend, and I probably had for a while. I was sure people had seen something on my end because they kept making comments. Gretchen had mentioned it just that morning. All I could hope was that it would go away. I knew Tasha wasn't interested back, and there was no way I was going to ruin our friendship. I needed to start dating again. That was likely the only way to get to the end of seventh year without going mad. Once we didn't see each other every day, it would probably be easier. Perhaps I would live at home for a year before moving out. Mum and dad had already said I could, and that way I could avoid our plans to get a flat together.

I was thinking about this as I turned a corridor and walked straight into someone.

"Well if it isn't little Barry," I heard as I backed up.

I'd walked straight into Lance. I wasn't sure how he could call me 'little' as I was taller than him now. I remembered thinking he was so tall two years previous, but now I was a few inches taller.

"Though it looks as if someone has put a stretching charm on you," he continued. "You're all skinny and gangly looking."

"Yes well," I said looking away.

"So how's it going, mate?" Lance asked. "I wasn't surprised to see that you were made prefect."

"Tasha told me you were staring at me yesterday," I responded as I began walking again.

"Well, it was more like the two of you," he said. "You should do something about Tasha soon. I always regretted that I took too long with Glenda. It was seeing her with you when it really hit me. I'd hate to see you go through the same."

"I doubt you care that much," I responded. "You were always jealous when I was with Glenda."

I wondered why he was even talking to me about all this. Of all the things to talk about, this was the last thing I wanted to talk about. There was a reason for why I wasn't doing anything about Tasha. My feelings for her would go away eventually.

"So were you," Lance told me. "And you will be if she meets someone she really likes."

"Obviously you know that Glenda didn't like me that much," I pointed out.

"No, she certainly did. She didn't _love_ you, but she did like you. When you first got together, you were all she would talk about, and it was so damn frustrating. I never disliked you. However, I just could see how you reacted when John and Tasha started to hang out. It did annoy me, but I also knew you wouldn't hurt Glenda. Out of all the blokes she dated, you were one of the best," Lance answered. "Look, you don't have to take my advice, but I could see it on the train between the two of you still."

I finally started to laugh.

"You could see it between us on the train?" I asked. " _Right_."

"You'd be amazed at what you can see in people's body language," Lance said with a shrug. "Weasley and Granger were the same way."

"Perhaps you should start a prefects dating service," I muttered rolling my eyes.

"Maybe I should," Lance said. "Look, I can sense the hostility from you for whatever reason. I've never disliked you, and I'm just trying to help you. You're not still upset about Glenda and me, are you?"

"No," I said. "It's not you. I'm just tired of everyone bringing up the fact that Tasha and I are meant to be together. We're not even sixteen yet. Just because it worked with you and Glenda now, it doesn't mean it will forever either. I'm glad you two are happy, but it doesn't mean you'll be married you know. We're teenagers."

"You have a point," Lance responded. "But wouldn't it be worth it to find out? Even if we break up as soon as we're done Hogwarts, I'll be glad I had the last two years with her."

"Even if it ruins your friendship?" I asked. "Because that's what you are risking, and it's what I'll risk if I act on it with Tasha."

"It won't ruin ours," Lance said.

"You're quite confident about that, but breakups can be messy," I said. "Look, as long as you don't go around telling everyone, I'll admit it to you. I've been coming to that realization myself lately. I fancy her, but I care too much about her to ruin our friendship. I can't imagine her not being in my life, and because of that, I can't tell her how I feel. It will go away eventually. I just need to start dating again. I haven't since Glenda, but that's because these days you don't know who you can or can't trust anymore."

"Take my advice or leave it, Barry, but what you just said means you probably should tell her," Lance told me. "Look, your my girlfriend's ex, and normally I should hate you because of that. I hate her previous boyfriends, and I never talk to them. Yet, I have no ill feelings toward you, and I want to advise you."

"And I appreciate the gesture," I admitted. "I just think you're wrong on this. Not everyone is you and Glenda or Ron and Hermione."

Lance sighed but just nodded. I was relieved that he didn't press the issue. We continued walking together through the corridors, and I wondered why he was out here in the first place. As we turned a corner, I finally asked him.

"Same reason you're out here," he answered. "Patrolling. I can't stand our perfect though, so we normally don't patrol together. I always thought it should have been Anita or Katie Bell, but it was Shawna of all people."

He made a face when he said the name. I had no idea who she was so I didn't respond. The only one I did know besides Anita was Katie Bell, but that was only because she was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Lance continued a story about how annoying Shawna was. I barely listened since I didn't really care. My mind was on Tasha instead. I wished so much that he was right, but I knew it was too much of a risk, so I wasn't going to do anything. I was going to try and find a girl I could trust and start dating again.

"Why aren't you patrolling with Tasha then? You two are assigned to patrol together."

"We're kind of fighting," I said, and I explained what had happened earlier that day.

"Probably thinks you're still angry with her," Lance said. "Girls can be sensitive like that."

"I'll talk to her later," I mumbled.

Lance nodded.

"Well, I'm headed to the owlery, so I'll talk to you later. Good luck on your OWLs. If you're up to it, the four of us should study together," he said.

I just murmured 'sure' and continued on. I appreciated the advice, but I still wasn't sure if I liked the bloke. I hadn't forgotten how he'd used Anita. He'd known she fancied him, and he'd taken advantage of that.

* * *

For the rest of the week, the homework piled on so much that by Friday, I felt we weren't even going to sleep that year. How did the teachers think this would help us pass our OWLs? They were marking us differently as well, just as my parents told me they would. The passing grades were A for Acceptable, E for Exceeds Expectations, and O for Outstanding. The failing grades were T for Troll, (if you can believe it) D for Dreadful and P for Poor. I'd found this out after Snape had passed our essays back. He'd given me a D on my essay about werewolves, but I believed he wasn't marking fairly. The rest of my classes I was averaging A's so far except Potions which I was awarded an O.

We'd tested our potions in the next class. Nick's and Tasha's potions had aged them, but Nick's made him a lot older than it should have right away. He looked forty instead of seventeen or eighteen, as it should have. We were supposed to age at least two years. Tasha's made her age appropriately at first, but then it kept working. She continued to mature until she was about thirty. I didn't tell anyone, but I thought she looked gorgeous at thirty. Everyone else had funny side effects as well, such as Gretchen's who worked like a stretching charm for some reason. She continued to grow tall until Slughorn stepped in. Philip's made him blow up like a balloon oddly enough. Luna's worked, but it only worked for a few moments before she turned back to fifteen. Harper's was the only one that was close. It lasted just a half hour.

Seeing many of my classmate's results made me realize just how amazing it was that I brewed it correctly two years ago. Slughorn told me I should do something with Potions when I was older, but I wasn't so sure about that. I couldn't imagine myself sitting in some lab brewing potions all day, and I never wanted to be a teacher. He mentioned a Healer as they needed to know how to make good potions, but I couldn't see myself doing that either. I couldn't imagine being around sick people all day, and what if you lost someone? They also had very long hours.

We were to write a three-foot-long essay after that class about the aging potion and how it worked, and why ours did or didn't work. I understood it well enough that I was given good marks. I just wished I could say the same thing about the rest of my classes. I was having a hard time accepting the fact that I was mainly getting A's in classes when I'd always been given good marks.

"I get it with Snape," I complained Friday night after dinner. "But with Flitwick or Sprout?"

"I'm getting mainly P's," Nick said. "Be happy with your A's."

"But how can our marks drop so much just from last year?" Tasha asked. "I've always had good grades, and I got a D in Arithmancy! I swear Hagrid is the only one marking fairly."

Our fight had been long forgotten. We'd woken up Tuesday getting along the same as always, and we hadn't mentioned it all week. Instead, the three of us became each other's support system after we were given the first of our new grades. I felt Tasha brought up a good point. While I wasn't top of Charms, I'd always been given decent grades in it. Flitwick had handed me back an essay graded as P, and he'd told me that my spellwork needed more work.

"Maybe it's to motivate us to work harder," Nick muttered. "Well, guess what? I'm listening! I'll work harder, though I don't know how they expect us to put in so much effort when they've given us a year's worth of homework. I think we should take up Lance's or Hermione's offer for help. They've done this."

"I think you're right," I said as I put my face in my hands.

How were we going to survive this year?


	38. Fifth Year Part Three

After a while, I did grow used to the workload. My days would be spent staying up late, and then I started to get up early. I refused to get anymore failing grades in any of my classes. I wanted to at least average between A's and E's instead of A's and D's. I figured it was a long shot to aim for O's right away. I figured I could get to that level slowly, though at times I thought Tasha, Nick, and Ben were right about Divination. The subject was still enjoyable, especially with Firenze as a teacher but did I really need it?

It wasn't just the workload stressing me out, or even prefect duties, but what was going on outside of Hogwarts. Every day we were hearing stories about people being killed, attacked, or even being kissed by Dementors. It made me scared for Ben the most. Dad's protective spells worked well, but I didn't think they worked against Dementors. What if he was out playing, and one came for him? He wouldn't know what to do! He'd be so terrified, and then he wouldn't be him anymore. I hated thinking about it.

"Your mum doesn't let him out on his own anymore," Nick reminded me one morning after we read about another dementor attack. "I worry too though. Mum and dad are thinking more and more of going into hiding. The only reason they haven't is that it's OWL year. They think next year we might if it gets worse."

"I'm scared too," Tasha said. "In our last class, Snape said that muggles couldn't even see them. That means that they won't even know what is happening."

"My parents have been checking up on them secretly almost daily," I told her. "They don't apparate in the shed, but some kind of wood near your place. They wear disillusionment charms at night to do it."

"I know, your mum told me they would, but Dementors are attacking both muggles and wizards," Tasha said. "I wish that muggles could see them. They'd know it was something bad and they could run."

"You can't run from a Dementor," Nick told her. "They should be teaching every kid, even first years, how to fight them though. Harry Potter learned how to do it his third year. I'm sure all of could learn as well. At least we'd be able to help ourselves or others."

"Well, we are doing a unit on then now," I said. "So maybe he will."

"There have to be spells that keep them from certain areas though," Tasha said. "They can't get at Hogwarts. I'm going to start going to the library in my free time to see if I can find something. There has to be something."

I figured she must have been right, but it was likely very advanced. Chances are only wizards such as Dumbledore could do that. I refrained from asking her about what she meant by free time. We never had free time between school work and our prefect duties. How did people have extracurricular activities? I knew Ginny had just made the Quidditch team again.

Slughorn also invited me to go to a dinner, but I had too much going on to go. I would like to have gone but then I would get behind on Transfiguration, and it was one of the classes that I'd just brought up from a P to an A. I couldn't sacrifice even one essay. Snape's class was the only one I was still getting failing grades in, but thankfully it had moved up to a P. I still often wondered if he was doing it on purpose. If I didn't bring up all my marks, I could lose my badge. He knew that, so perhaps he wanted to sabotage me.

"I think you're getting way too paranoid mate," Nick said when I brought this up. "He's a git for sure, but he can't sabotage students he doesn't like. You've never really effort on essays in his classes because you hate him. It's the only reason why Harper was so close to beating you in Potions. All of your Potions grades have gone, even the essays. It's not because of the teacher."

I couldn't argue with him about that. He was right. It wasn't that I didn't try on his essays, but I didn't put in as much effort in it as I could have. So for the next essay, we were assigned, I decided to treat it as if it were McGonagall or Slughorn marking it. They were the two teachers I had the most respect for. I stayed up past midnight working on it and then got up early to check it over. I told myself I would sleep when I was dead.

When he handed it back during the next class, I checked it to see that he'd finally given me an A. I sighed with relief. I'd finally pulled all of my grades to Acceptable, so now I had to maintain it and then improve. Some classes I'd even managed to get E's. If I could get E's in most of them, I would be satisfied.

One afternoon, at the end of September, Slughorn kept me after class, and I wondered what this was about. Was he hoping that I would go to one of his parties after all? Nick and Tasha shrugged at me before departing. Neither of them was particularly fond of him lately. He often got their last names wrong. He seemed to only remember specific students names.

"Don't look so nervous Mr. Hoofer," he told me with a grin. "You're not in trouble. I can't imagine that you've ever been in detention."

"Well, I have," I said looking away.

"I know it's your OWL year, but you are one of the best in the fifth year," he continued. "I'd ask Harry Potter, but he seems to be as busy as you. I can never get him to any of my dinners either. No, your father used to tutor students when he was here, as you know. There is a charming young lady in the fourth year who has asked for my help in this class. I instantly thought of you and Mr. Potter. I find that other students often help more than teachers at times, and I believe it's because you can relate better."

"It's not that I don't want to tutor, I just don't know if I have time," I told him. "With prefect duties and homework, I've barely talked to my sisters."

"Ah yes, Brianne and Beatrice," Slughorn said.

I wondered how Brenda felt knowing that Slughorn didn't even know her name. I looked away to hide my smirk. It had to have been driving her mad, but the two of us had barely spoken since we'd arrived. Brianne came over to talk to us during the weekends, but we rarely talked on weekdays. She too was good in Potions, so I wasn't surprised that Slughorn knew her, but didn't know Brenda. She was average in the class.

"Yes," I said with an acknowledging nod.

"Well, how about just a couple of hours on Sundays," Slughorn said. "Surely you can spare a couple of hours on your weekends. If it becomes too much, you can always stop."

"Is she Ravenclaw?" I asked figuring that it might be easier that way. Brenda would know her too.

"Gryffindor," Slughorn said. "Her name is Rhonda Wane... er- that may be wrong."

He moved over to his desk and began shifting some parchment around while muttering to himself.

"Ah here it is," he said picking up a small ripped piece of parchment. "Romilda Vane. Hm, where did I get Rhonda from? Ah, well- when you have many students to teach, you don't often get all their names right."

"I can try starting this Sunday," I told Slughorn. "But if it gets to be too much, I can't continue."

"Understandable, understandable," he said. "I'm sure you two will get along brilliantly. Your father could never turn down tutoring either. Perhaps you can help out with my younger classes as well."

"Erm maybe," I said though I had absolutely no desire to do that.

It was one thing to help someone one on one, but I didn't want to help out in classes, and I likely wouldn't have time anyway. Did he expect me to skip class just to help him in his classes? How did dad do it? I'd help my sisters in the past though, so I figured helping Romilda wouldn't be any different.

"Let her know I'll meet her in the library after lunch on Sunday," I told him.

"Excellent," Slughorn said. "And if you do find the time, I'd be delighted for you to come to the next party. I've invited Brianne as well. It's a bit early still, I know but I will be having a Christmas party, I just have to invite everyone, you are the first to know. I would like you to come to that one for sure. You can bring the lovely Tanya with you."

"Tasha," I corrected. "And the Christmas party shouldn't be a problem. It's just the weekday parties. I'll try to go to your Christmas party."

"Well, then good day to you Barry. I'll see you in the next class."

I left the class wondering what I'd gotten myself into.

* * *

Sunday after lunch, I waited in the library impatiently for this Romilda girl to come. I had an Herbology assignment I needed to do, so I hoped she wouldn't take forever. I sat with my notes from last year out while waiting. I tapped my spell checker quill against my Potions textbook impatiently. Finally, a stunning girl with long black hair and dark eyes joined me at my table. She kind of reminded me of Tasha in a way though they had different chins and mouths. Tasha was also a lot prettier.

"Well, you're no Harry Potter, but you'll do," she said as she sat beside me. "You're not bad looking either. I mean, Harry will always be better looking but- well, yes, I can work with you."

"Erm... okay," I said.

I didn't think I'd ever been compared to Harry Potter, so it was a bit odd that this girl was doing so. She grinned at me showing perfectly white teeth.

"And your names rhyme, so I guess that's a bonus," she continued.

"Right, well, tell me what your strengths and weakness are," I said not knowing what else to say.

Back in first year, the boys had joked a couple of times that my name rhymed with Harry's, but I hadn't heard anything about it since. I wasn't sure where this girl was going with any of this. I just wanted us to get to the point though. I'd said I would help her for two hours, and I didn't want to go longer than that. Not if I wanted to get good marks on my Herbology essay.

"Well, I understand the essays just fine," she told me. "I understand what we're doing with basic antidotes to poisons, but it's actually making the potions. My last potion gave off a smell of rotten eggs, but my essay was marked ninety-five percent."

"Well then you're likely impatient," I told her. "With potions you need patience, and you need to pay attention. It's very important to put the potions in as the textbook instructs you too."

"Perhaps Snape never taught me properly then," Romilda and she leaned over close to me. She smelled really good. She placed a hand on my arm. "So why don't you teach me properly."

I felt butterflies as she did this. She smiled up at me, and I couldn't appreciate her beauty. Part of me wanted to lean over and kiss her. I took in a deep breath and counted to ten. I couldn't think like this at the moment.

"What was the last potion you made?" I asked trying to ignore her rubbing my arm. "We'll start from there."

* * *

"Don't hold your breath mate," Nick told me later on.

I'd just finished telling him everything. The study period had ended up going longer than the two hours, but I was quite okay with that. I believed I had her understanding me at any rate, but I thought I felt something between us too. Though I was supposed to be patrolling, I'd raced straight to the common room to talk to Nick. Tasha could handle one patrol on her own, and I would make it up to her later.

"No, something was there," I insisted.

"Barry, she's obsessed with Harry Potter," Nick told me. "She's been trying to get with him since the start of the year. Normally I'd say you can pull a girl like that, I mean you managed to get with a hot fifth year in third year! I'm just saying you're wrong about Romilda Vane. She's just a major flirt, and you're falling for it."

"Well, we'll just have to see where it goes," I responded.

Nick sighed and shook his head.

"Aren't you supposed to be patrolling with Tasha right now?" He asked. "You should get going, and forget about Romilda. She just needs your help in Potions, and that's it."

But it wasn't that easy. From that day forward, Romilda was on my mind, and I was relieved by this. I was tired of having thoughts about Tasha all the time. It was nice to think about someone else for a change. No girl had been on my mind this much since Glenda back in third year. I did my best not to let it distract me from school work, however. I couldn't let my grades slip now, no matter how much I thought about her. Tasha and Nick both kept telling me that she wasn't interested, but I didn't listen. I began to look forward Sundays after lunch. I was even considering asking Slughorn if we could brew a potion in his classroom so I could help her understand better.

Our study sessions expanded to snogging sessions. So I didn't understand where Nick and Tasha were coming from. If she weren't interested, she wouldn't be snogging me. I knew where some of the best places to go were because of patrols. There certain areas that prefects rarely checked since not too many people knew about them.

It wasn't just about moving on from Tasha, but it relieved the stress I felt about OWLs, prefect duties, and worrying about the war. When I was with her, I didn't have to think about any of that.

I did have to try harder when it came to patrolling though. I'd missed two so far, and I was late to two. I didn't want to lose my badge, and fortunately, Tasha covered me and so did Lance once, and the Rosita for the last one. I couldn't keep it up though. It wasn't like me to be so irresponsible. So I vowed after Rosita covered for me that I would never miss another again. I'd worked hard for that badge, and I wasn't about to lose it for a girl I fancied.

"Maybe I can ask her to Hogsmeade," I said one evening into October. "The Hogsmeade trip is coming up, or maybe we can stay here and study."

"Mate, you're wasting your time with her," Nick told me. "I overheard her telling her friends that she wants to go with Harry Potter."

"She might be changing her mind," I responded. "Why else does she snog me all the time?"

"Let's just go for patrol duty," Tasha said looking annoyed. "You can't be late for this one Barry. I've had to cover for you twice now."

"I know," I said, and I got up quickly. "I won't be any more," I promised as I joined her side.

She didn't say anything. We hadn't been talking as much lately. She was often annoyed when I brought Romilda up, and I was trying to avoid one on one sessions with Tasha so I wouldn't fancy her anymore. I felt that by keeping a distance from each other, it would make things easier for me. Not that I avoided her of course. We still hung out, but often I kept to myself and only really talked to her about our duties together or else school work.

We walked through the common room together and out the door. She kept ahead as we went down the spiral staircase. In fact, she kept a few paces ahead of me until I sped up so we could walk together.

"Look, I'm sorry about neglecting our duties," I told her. "It was very irresponsible, and I only have you and Lance to thank for not reporting me."

"And our last prefect meeting," she stated. "If I hadn't taken notes for you, then you wouldn't know what you're supposed to be doing! When we first came here, you wanted to help the first years out. You've been ignoring them ever since! You barely talk to your sisters-"

"Because of homework," I said. "And Brianne talks to us all the time. If Brenda wants to talk to me so much then maybe she should talk to me. We usually avoid each other. And the first years know they can come to me at any time!"

"And yet I am finding time to still interact with them," Tasha said. "We both promised we'd look out for little Sasha and yet you forgot all about her. She has friends now, in case you're wondering. You've forgotten all about everyone ever since you met Romilda. It's one thing when it's your school work, but it's another when it comes to some girl! And Romilda does not like you! She is using you! I imagine she even knows you've started to fancy her, so she'll take advantage as much as she can! You've never been this dumb about a girl before! I don't get it."

"You just don't like when someone else pays attention to me!" I accused. "You're right that I need to be more responsible, and I'll start from this day forward. Every time I like a girl though, you get like this! You just don't want me to have a girlfriend!"

Later I would realize I was a complete git, but at the time, I felt I was entirely justified. I was tired of Tasha always getting on her high horse and acting like Miss Perfect. Every single time someone did something or said something she disagreed with, she would nag at them. She'd act like she was some flawless person who had never said or done anything stupid and it was so aggravating lately. I deserved a lecture about missing my prefect duties, but I didn't need her to get on my case about Romilda. I also didn't need her to get on my case about my sisters who knew that they could talk to me whenever they wanted. Neither appeared to have any grievances with me anyway.

"What about Ben then?" Tasha snapped as she stopped. "Is Romilda so important to you that you've forgotten all about him? You told him the day before we came back that you would write him as much as you could! You have written him once, and you missed his birthday for the second year in a row!"

"I bought gifts before we left," I said weakly stopping as well, but I knew she was right even as I said it.

"But you said you'd write to him!" Tasha responded. "And don't blame it on the owls being intercepted either," she added as I opened my mouth to say that very thing. "Because we both know it's not true. You just plain forgot! You've never been this dumb about a girl! Why now? What is so great about her?"

I looked away. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her that Romilda reminded me of her so much that I'd started to fancy her instead. It was working, but I knew all of it was wrong, especially when it came to my brother who was probably wondering why he hadn't gotten a letter from his big brother for a long time. Neither Nick or Tasha understood though. I didn't think anyone could because I didn't get it myself. All I knew was that a different girl was on my mind for once, and I didn't want to let that go. Romilda flirted with me every time we studied together, and we'd been heavily snogging a lot lately. It was usually her who started it all. So how could she say that Romilda didn't like me?

"I can't explain it," I finally said.

"Well, I hope you think of something to tell Ben at Christmas then!" She told me. "You know he'll be asking. He won't want to know that his big brother cares more about a girl than him. You're such a selfish, spoiled, egotistical brat! You don't care about anyone else but yourself. Why else are you so stupid about Romilda? You think you're entitled to every girl who looks at you just because you're handsome. Guess what? You're not entitled to girls, so maybe get that through your head instead of treating people who care about you like crap! I guess that's what happens when you grow up with a silver spoon in your mouth."

"Why don't you just mind your own business for once?" I asked her feeling angry now. I felt she'd crossed the line with every insulting thing she'd just said. "You're always getting in everyone else's business, but you never do anything about yourself. You're constantly telling everyone what to do, or you get upset with them for breaking a rule, or you get self-righteous when someone says something you don't like. You're not as perfect as you think you are. You're just as flawed as the rest of us."

Tasha just stared at me with her eyes shining. I'd never talked to her like this before, and momentarily, I wanted to hug her and apologize.

"Then continue to be delusional then," she finally said. "You've always hidden behind some kind of fantasy life! You've grown up spoiled, and you've never had to work hard. You never have to with that trust fund waiting for you. Must be nice to have everything handed to you. You always go for the wrong girl, and it always ends badly! Look at Olivia, and then Glenda! You ignore all the signs just because you want some hot girl!"

"And you've always just liked blokes because they are famous or even handsome," I responded back.

"I guess maybe that's why I liked you," Tasha said coldly. "You're nothing but a handsome face! Now leave me alone! Patrol on your own."

And she turned on her heel and walked off angrily. I stood staring after her. Had we just ended our friendship? I wasn't sure what to feel at the moment. I was extremely angry, but I was also feeling sad. We couldn't really be ending a four-year friendship just like that? I let out a deep breath and began to patrol on my own.

* * *

Tasha didn't speak to me after that. Instead of hanging out with Nick and me, she started to either hang out with Luna, the other girls, or sometimes even the first years. I knew she still talked to Nick, but for whatever reason, he stayed by my side even though he felt our fight was my fault. He wouldn't talk about it either. After we talked about it the first time, he remained tight-lipped if I brought Tasha up.

"So are we going to Hogsmeade together or did you manage to get a date with Romilda?" Nick asked me one evening a few days before the visit.

"We can go together," I said. "But Romilda said she's hanging out with her friends. She did say maybe to the Christmas party though."

"Probably because she is hoping to go with Harry," he said.

I decided to ignore his jibe.

"You haven't seen any girls you want to take?" I asked instead.

"I see plenty, but who can I trust?" He responded. "I'm just going solo. You should take me to Sluggys party though if Romilda says no. I'd like to go to a party and forget all this," he said waving a hand at all the parchment around us. "I doubt you'll come to your senses before then, so I doubt you and Tasha will have made up."

"I'm not the only one guilty in that fight," I said. "She was out of line with a lot of things she said. She was only right about my irresponsibility."

"I don't want to fight with you mate," Nick sighed. "Let's just work on this okay?"

I wasn't used to the three of us being so divided, and I couldn't stand it. What had gone so wrong? Was it all me? Were Nick and Tasha right? I just didn't want to fancy her anymore, and why was it so wrong for me to look elsewhere outside of my friend? It was the smart thing to do. I hesitated a moment before I said all this to him. For the first time, I decided to admit my feelings for her.

"I'm going to get real with you Barry," Nick said as he set his quill down. "And I hope you'll listen to me. I agree that you shouldn't tell Tasha, but not because of the risk. I think both you and her are too immature to take that step at the moment, but especially you. You're handling this entire situation all wrong."

"How?" I asked. "She's guilty as well."

"Because you started to ignore her, and everyone else for some random girl," Nick said. "Look, I understand that you don't want to fancy your best friend. That's completely understandable, but as soon as you noticed another girl who could make you forget, you started to ignore the people you care about. And that's why you and Tasha have been fighting. You still haven't written to Ben, even though you promised him. You told us that you still slightly dislike Lance because he used Anita. That is exactly what you're doing to Romilda, and she's doing it to you. It will be a very toxic relationship if you date. It is imperative for you to understand this! She is not interested in you at all, and she never will be! She wants Harry Potter!"

"But how can you be so sure of that?" I asked.

"Because we've all heard her!" Nick said. "You're the only one who wants to ignore it. Katrina told me recently that Romilda has been talking about slipping Harry a love potion since we got back! So even if Romilda did like you, do you honestly want someone who would do that? Does it not remind you of anyone? Olivia would probably do the same! Do you really want a girlfriend like that?"

And for the first time since I'd met her, I started to really think about what everyone had been telling me. As I thought about the love potion part, I frowned at Nick.

"But she's awful at making potions," I said. "A love potion is far too advanced for her. It takes too long to make, and it needs to be brewed at a certain time. Ingredients also need to be-"

"Don't be thick," Nick interrupted as he shook his head. "She doesn't need to make it. She can order it from the Weasley's. Maybe she already has."

"But they're banned," I said. "It's one of the many things banned from this school, and rightfully so. The mail is being checked, remember?"

"The Weasley's disguise their products to be discreet," Nick answered. "It's on one of the forms I have upstairs. It's Filch who checks it, so how would he know?"

"She's seriously considering doing that?" I asked.

"Yes, I wouldn't lie to you, Barry. I just don't want to see you get hurt, and I most certainly don't want to see you get drugged," Nick replied. "I've never seen you like this before, and now it makes sense. You are a huge prat; you _know_ that, don't you?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

I leaned forward and put my face in my hands. What was the hell wrong with me? No wonder Tasha was so angry with me. She was completely right. I'd grown up sheltered and spoiled, and I had always gone for beautiful girls. I'd noticed how gorgeous Romilda was. If I had, to be honest, I believed I'd forced myself to fancy Romilda to forget Tasha. They were similar in looks, so it had been so easy to do it. I should have seen the red flags from the beginning though. The moment she'd entered the library, she'd told me that she wanted Harry instead of me. I was the second choice, and perhaps she'd have settled for me if Harry kept saying no.

I moved my hands away.

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"I'm sure if you do whatever you can to make it up to her," Nick said.

"We said some really awful things to each other," I said with a sigh.

"Just talk during your next patrol," Nick responded. "But for now, I think you should keep it to yourself. You two need to grow up first. You were willing to hurt her to move on, and she's willing to hurt you when you do something she disagrees with. I don't think either of you should be in any relationship until you can figure things out. Now that you've admitted that you were an idiot, I'll be honest with you. I think Tasha was completely out of line with most of what she said. However, I think she said whatever she could to hurt you. I doubt she meant any of that."

"She didn't," I responded. "But she does need to stop getting so self-righteous at times, and I think that it's something you and I need to talk to her about when we make up. Sometimes I get so tired of it. She's right some of the time, and I know she means well, but sometimes I feel like my mother is nagging me. It honestly really bothered me when she got on my case about using the tickling jinx on Philip. Harper is a git, but he's not going to rat me out over using that on someone else. He doesn't care about things like that. He'd wait for me to screw up. Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't said anything about me slacking off on duties."

"I can't see Harper doing it at all," Nick said. "I mean, he'll rat on people, but it depends on who. He'll try to catch your sisters or me at something before he'd rat _you_ out. He'd want to do something that would get you to fight him rather than just you skiving off on your duties or jinxing someone in the corridor. And it would have to be bigger than the tickling charm. I admit I get tired of her self-righteous attitude too, but I care about her too much to call her out on it. I know you feel the same way. You make up with her, and we'll talk to her."

"My next few patrols are with other prefects," I said. "So if I can, I'll talk to her before then. I'm going to talk to Romilda during our next study session too."

"So are we going on a date to Hogsmeade then?" Nick asked.

"Might as well," I said with a shrug. "Thanks for giving me a wake-up call."

"Next time I'll use the boil curse on your arse, and you can't put me in detention over it," Nick said.

I grabbed a piece of crumpled up parchment and tossed it at him. Nick laughed and threw it back right in my face. I felt relieved to have one of my best friends back. Now I just had to get my other one back.

* * *

The Hogsmeade trip was not only depressing, but something horrible happened that day as well. Nick and I went down there early but we didn't stay out there long. It was a very stormy and cold day. We didn't even bother going to The Three Broomsticks. We just grabbed a few things from Honey Dukes and Zonkos before heading back. We both decided it was better to catch up on our school work than to walk around in the wet and cold. Brianne thought we were mad for coming back early, but I knew her attitude would change by the time she was a fifth year. Hogsmeade visits were terrific, but not when it was stormy out.

She was sitting with us, and checking over our essays when Brenda rushed over to us looking scared. We all looked up nervously, all probably wondering if there had been a Death Eater attack, or a Dementor one. My thoughts were on the Dementors considering how bad the weather was, but I wouldn't have put it past the Death Eaters to show up in Hogsmeade to try and capture Harry Potter or someone else. Likely their kids had told them when the first Hogsmeade visit was.

"What happened?" Brianne asked nervously. "Someone get attacked?"

"Yes," Brenda asked. "I don't know all the details though. Most of what I know was overheard from older kids talking about. You know that Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Katie Bell?"

We all nodded, and I wondered if a Dementor had gone for her in Hogsmeade.

"She got a hold of a cursed necklace somehow. I'm not sure how and she touched it, and now she's in horrible shape. That's all I know, but some evil person must have given it to her! Someone must have been waiting for an opportunity to hurt a Hogwarts student!" Brenda said fast.

"But someone had to have seen a Death Eater in Hogsmeade," I said. "I wonder how they managed to give it to her."

"Maybe it was a Death Eaters kid," Brianne said. "Maybe they gave it to one of their kids and told them to give it someone. Maybe it's a kid that no one would ever suspect. Mum and dad told me that it was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed the Potters, and not Sirius Black. Absolutely no one suspected Pettigrew, and so the same could happen now!"

"You know what? That's probably what happened," Nick said nodding. "And I bet Katie won't even remember who gave it to her if she was cursed bad!"

"I bet they cancel Hogsmeade visits now," Brenda said. "I knew things were bad of course, but knowing that they're willing to attack kids like that makes it even more real."

I was feeling the same way, and I was sure Brianne and Nick were too. We all knew things were bad; we all read the Daily Prophet every day, and our parents had warned us. We'd all seen how bad it was in Diagon Alley as well. However, knowing a student had just been attacked hit home. It was supposed to be a fun day for all of us, and the Death Eaters had taken advantage of that. It showed just how sick they indeed were. I knew I needed to make up with Tasha as soon as possible. Chester and Ralph were right after all. Fighting over petty things just wasn't worth it. Getting all hung up on Romilda had been so stupid as well. A war was going on, and my main concern had been some girl who didn't even like me. I did plan to talk to her the next day during our study session, but I was glad Nick had spoken to me.

* * *

I did wonder if Romilda would deny just using me until she could get with Harry. I fully expected her to make up some lie about how she actually liked me, and that I was just crazy by assuming that. I was going to confront her about it the moment she sat down with me in the library. I'd sent her a note telling her to meet me at one of the back tables so that we wouldn't be overheard. Usually, we were in the more common part of the library, but I didn't want to be heard by any fifth year, and most were in the library these days.

I arrived right after lunch and spread my notes from fourth year out. We were going to go over the Girding Potion which she'd apparently burnt into a hard black mess. I was starting to think our tutor sessions were pointless anyway. She wasn't getting it when it came to taking her time when making potions.

"Hello handsome," Romilda said as she joined me. "Perhaps we can end our study break early today. We can study something else today," she added as she put a hand on my upper thigh.

Momentarily I was distracted, but then I thought of Tasha and snapped out of it.

"I don't think so," I said. "I wanted to talk to you about something first."

"Anything Barry," she purred, and then she began fluttering her eyelashes.

"Are you just using me until you can get with Harry Potter?" I blurted out before I could fall under her spell again.

Romilda seemed shocked. She widened her eyes and then let out a deep breath. I wondered if she was trying to think of some lie. Perhaps she was thinking-

"Of course," she said, and now my eyes widened. "I mean, you're great Barry. You are very handsome, and under normal circumstances, I would go for you. But, well, he's Harry bloody Potter! He's survived You-Know-Who how many times? You're just some handsome bloke who is fun to snog. You're not famous and you probably never will be! You'll probably never accomplish anything big! You're going to be some boring old Ministry bloke someday. Who wants _that_?"

"Well, that's good to know," I said as I began gathering my parchment together.

"Oh don't be like that," she said. "I did give into your pathetic male fantasies after all!"

"And now I regret that immensely. I think it's best you find someone else to tutor you from now on," I told her coldly. "I don't like being used like that. I was stupid to like a girl like you, but you're not exactly bright either. You're going after someone who doesn't even want you. You probably didn't even believe him last year when he said You-Know-Who was back. You're just jumping on the bandwagon."

"You're going to stop tutoring me just because I don't like you?" Romilda asked. "Well, I'm sorry, but that's pathetic Barry."

"Just as it's pathetic to try and drug someone with a love potion," I retorted. "And I happen to be a prefect!"

"I don't have one, and you can't prove I do," Romilda snapped. "You can't go after me for that just because I hurt your bloody ego."

"No, you're right, I can't," I responded. "But I've heard plenty of rumours about you trying to feed Harry Potter a love potion. I'm giving you a warning Romilda," I said as I began stuffing all of my stuff back in my bag. "If I hear that Harry Potter has been drugged by a love potion, I'll tell the teachers to check in with you before anyone else. That is a promise."

I got up and swung my bag over my shoulders and walked off.

"Great job at being a snitch, but you still can't prove anything Barry Hoofer!" She called after me.

I didn't turn back; I just continued on my way feeling hurt, embarrassed, and frustrated. I knew even before she'd admitted it that she'd been using me, but she wasn't even sorry about it. She'd admitted it without hesitation, and she'd shown no remorse over it. She thought she wasn't doing anything wrong because it was for Harry Potter. Tasha was right; I was so delusional. I left the library with my head down wondering why I'd never listened to dad. He'd told me never to let my hormones get the best of me, and I'd done just that.

I let out a sigh and looked up as I reached a flight of stairs. I began making my way up. At the top, I found the one person I wanted to be with, but I'd hurt and ignored. She was leaning against the stone wall and looking over a piece of parchment.

"Tasha!" I called out to her.

She glanced up, but once she saw it was me, she rolled up the parchment and then turned to walk off. I couldn't let her go. We needed to make up, and she needed to know how sorry I was.

"Tasha," I said again once I reached her.

It was one of the advantages of being taller than her. I could usually reach her with no problem. I took a hold of her hand as she tried to quicken her steps. She stopped and turned to look at me. She stared up at me looking annoyed, but her annoyance quickly changed to concern. She must have seen something in my face to realize that I was upset.

"Barry, what's happened?" She asked, all annoyance gone now.

I didn't answer; I just pulled her into a hug which she eagerly returned. I wasn't sure how long we held on to each other. We just stood in the middle of the corridor with our arms each other. I wanted to kiss her so much, but all I did was lean down to press my forehead against hers. She began rubbing her hand against my right arm and then pulled away.

"What's happened?" She repeated.

"I'm just so sorry for everything," I murmured. "I was a complete git to you."

"I wasn't any better," Tasha admitted. "Everything I said to you was horrible. I knew it while I was saying all of that but I just wanted to hurt you. I was just so tired of you taking me for granted, and you just weren't getting it. I was out of line though. But what has happened? Something happened to you. I can tell! I know you way to well. It's not just because you're sorry."

I nodded and then I told her everything that had been said in the library. I fully expected an 'I told you so,' but all she did was move closer to hug me again.

"That bitch!" She said as she stared up at me.

"I deserved it," I responded.

"No, you didn't!" Tasha insisted moving away again. "Look, you were very irresponsible, and ignorant to ignore us and your little brother, but you didn't deserve all of that! You were just a stupid hormonal boy! At least you're realizing it, and you're sorry, but she took advantage of you! She _knew_ you fancied her, and she used you until she could get with Harry. If he has any sense at all, he won't go for her. I've talked to Hermione about it, not about _you_ of course, but Romilda's crush on Harry, and Hermione said that so far, Harry has ignored her. Hopefully, he keeps ignoring her."

"But you're right about the girls I go for," I said. "Glenda wasn't bad, but I knew the whole time that she would end up Lance. I knew there was something not right with Olivia, and yet I still went for them. I even knew deep down about Romilda, but I just wanted to believe her interest was real. It was all for a stupid reason too."

"Well, what was your reason?" Tasha asked. "I knew it wasn't like you, and so what was it about her that made you so dumb?"

I couldn't admit the truth to her. I didn't know if I ever could, so I decided to tell her my secondary reason instead.

"It's just with everything going on," I finally said. "The war and OWLs and all, I just wanted something real and to distract me."

"I guess we can all be stupid under stress," Tasha answered with a nod. "I mean, I was very stupid too. I could have just talked to you, but I got all passive aggressive with you, and I held in my anger until I exploded. We could have communicated with you a lot better."

"But I wasn't listening," I stated.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "I was out of line. I forgive you Barry, and I hope you can forgive me too."

"Already forgiven," I said quickly. "Chester and Ralph are right after all."

Tasha grinned at me and then took my hand.

"So why don't we go to the common room then?" She asked. "I'm sure Nick will be happy to see we've made up."

* * *

Things went back to normal after that though from time to time, Romilda would give me resentful glances if we passed each other in the corridors. I did my best to ignore her. When I went to Slughorn about ending our study sessions, he seemed genuinely disappointed that things hadn't gone on better for us. Of course, I didn't tell him what had actually happened. It was too embarrassing to admit it outside of my friends and sisters. I just told him that with my schedule, I couldn't fit her in anymore and that we'd never gotten on well anyway. I had to admit the last bit because apparently, she'd tried to make it seem as if it were just me who was the problem.

He didn't seem to change his mind about me, however. He still wanted me to go to one of his parties, and I was so very tempted to go when he insisted as Gwenog Jones was going to be at the next one. However, I still had three essays to finish, and I had to practice spells for Charms. So with great disappointment, I shook my head and apologized.

"Believe me, I'd really like to go," I said. "I can't get behind when I'm a prefect though. I'll be at the Christmas party for sure."

"I understand, I understand," Slughorn answered. "But you know, Miss Weasley has been to most of my parties."

"I'm sure she has," I said. "But she doesn't have as much going on as I do. Maybe after the Christmas holidays things will settle down."

"Well, I wouldn't want to see one of the best in the fifth year fail," Slughorn said. "Please tell your sister to come, and let her know about the party."

"I will," I said.

In all honesty, with everything going on, I wanted to go to a party. For one night, I just wanted to forget about the war, about OWLs and my embarrassment when it came to Romilda. I was glad that the holidays were fast approaching because I needed mum's coddling.


	39. Fifth Year Part Four

As the Christmas holidays approached, I noticed our workload seemed to be growing, and so did prefect duties. I was relieved I was going home so I wouldn't have to worry about them over the break. Patrick had handed out the list of duties for anyone staying over, and it was quite extensive. It went even as far as grounds duty for at least six hours! We were to look for students who might want to try and sneak into the forest or have snowball fights. One of the duties was to supervise Peeves, and I laughed out loud at that one.

"Something funny, Hoofer?" Patrick asked.

"Not at all," I responded before smirking over at Tasha.

"Good," he answered before continuing on with the list.

My question was why wasn't April, the Head Girl ever in charge of these meetings? She often sat writing down everything that went on in the meetings, but she never said a word. She was in Ravenclaw though I'd never noticed her before. I wondered if she was really shy or something. Why else would she allow him to control all the meetings? If I made Head Boy, I wouldn't be so stern and boring while I was in charge of meetings.

Another curious thing was that Ron and Hermione never sat together in meetings anymore. The two were always inseparable but she often sat on her own in the back, and he sat in the middle. Normally the two of them sat close to the front near Tasha and me. I was supposed to patrol with Hermione that night after the meeting, so I decided I would ask. The two of us had barely talked that year. There were many people I hadn't had the chance to talk to outside of my sisters, friends, and fellow prefects. I hadn't even been down to see Hagrid that year though I knew Brianne and Nick had been quite a few times.

When the meeting was over, I decided to hang out by the door of the prefects lounge while I waited for Hermione. She seemed to take her sweet time, and I wondered if it had to with Ron, who had stopped to talk to Ernie Macmillan. Hermione stood in the back with her head down. She was slowly putting some parchment rolls into her bag. Tasha passed me and grinned at me while Harper sneered at me, followed by Malfoy who gave me a look of indifference. Luckily enough, I hadn't patrolled with either of them yet, and I hoped my luck would continue. Unfortunately, I'd had to patrol with Malfoy's girlfriend, Pansy once, and she was a horrid girl.

Finally, Ron and Ernie exited the room and Hermione looked up. She saw me, and she made her way over to me slowly.

"You didn't have to wait," she told me once she reached me.

"Well, we're patrolling together today," I replied. "Besides, I'm concerned. You don't seem to be yourself lately."

She gave me a weak smile.

"Is anyone?" She asked.

"Maybe not, but you don't even talk to Ron during meetings anymore," I said.

As soon as I said Ron, her eyes suddenly filled with tears and I knew I'd hit the bludger head on. Something was going on with Ron and Hermione. My guess was that they'd finally realized they fancied one another, and something had gone wrong. Perhaps they even dated and then broke up.

We began walking together down the corridor, neither speaking. I wasn't sure what else to say at first.

"Is- is everything okay with him?" I asked after we'd walked a good distance from the prefects lounge.

"Everything is great," she said in a high pitched voice. "I'm surprised you haven't seen him thrashing about with _Lavender_ all over the place."

So he'd gotten a girlfriend. She didn't need to tell me any more. I was a bit surprised because I believed if one of them would find someone, it would have been Hermione finding someone else. It wasn't that Ron was a bad bloke but I'd always sensed that he was awkward around girls. Luna often mentioned that he could be very unkind.

"With OWLs, I haven't seen much outside of the common room or the library," I responded. "The only time I get out is for classes or prefect duty."

"How is fifth year going then?" She asked seemingly determined to change the subject.

I decided to spare her and answer. I hated seeing girls cry, and I wanted her eyes to stop shining, so I began telling her about classes and my stresses with all of it. As I began talking, I found some of the tension going away as I told her the truth about all of it. With anyone else outside of Tasha and Nick, including Lance, I'd downplayed how hard everything was going. When it came to Hermione, I felt that she could be considered a friend, so I was able to tell her how everything really was going.

"It gets easier," she told me. "I mean, the workload doesn't change but I did find after Christmas last year that it didn't seem as bad. Slughorn told me that he's been inviting you to his dinners, but you haven't gone yet. You're as stubborn as Harry about going. He always makes sure they have Quidditch practice or he has something else going on so he doesn't have to go."

"It's not that I don't want to go," I said. "I'd like a night to forget it all, but it's not worth sacrificing my grades for. I wasted enough time on some girl this year, and I regret that now."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

I hesitated before I began my story, but I didn't tell her which girl I'd been after as it involved her best friend as well. I told her everything else though, including how I'd ignored my sisters, Tasha, and I hadn't bothered to write to Ben often even though I'd promised I would. She remained quiet as I told her everything that had happened.

"Let me guess, this famous bloke is Harry?" Hermione asked when I finished.

"How did you-" I began.

"Because most of the girls fancy him right now," she answered. "You're not wrong that this mystery girl wouldn't have given him the time of day last year. It's quite ridiculous, but thankfully Harry seems to have more sense than _some_ people I know."

At first, I thought that was a dig at me for falling for Romilda the way I did.

"Believe me; I know I didn't have any sense," I responded. "I wasn't thinking."

When I'd mentioned this to the boys in my dorm, Ivan had laughed at me.

"You were thinking, just not with the right head," he'd said and I'd thrown a ball of dirty socks at him, causing him to fall off his bed when he tried to avoid them.

Hermione smiled before she poked her head into what looked like a solid stone wall, but it was really just charmed to look that way. Instead, a secret passage was hidden behind it. She pulled back out still smiling, but I thought it looked rather sad.

"I wasn't meaning you," she said.

"Ron?" I asked and she nodded. "Well, what happened? You don't have to tell me if it bothers you but I did tell you about R- about my story."

"Who is this girl?" She asked.

"I'd rather not say," I responded.

"Well, no offense, but I'd rather not say either," Hermione replied. "It isn't that I don't trust you, but I'd rather not talk about it too much. I don't even talk about it as much with Harry and Ginny if I can avoid it. Sometimes I vent, but they don't even know the extent of it."

"Fair enough," I said. "But I can guess the gist of it. You fancy each other, and he went for Lavender instead. Look, I get it. I have that with Tasha right now, and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Our situation isn't like that," Hermione said. "But I hope you don't wait too long with Tasha. Let's talk about something else now though Barry. I try not to think about Ron or Lavender when I can, but unfortunately, I have to witness them all the time."

I nodded and brought up Hagrid instead. I thought I saw tears in her eyes again, and I didn't want her to cry. I also wanted to know more about sixth year anyway. Eventually, I would get past this stressful year and I wanted to know if next year would be just as stressful. I stayed quiet while she told me how Hagrid had been upset at first because they hadn't stayed in his class for their sixth year. She also mentioned something about Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp, who was a real giant, which I'd heard rumours about but I hadn't known it was true. It was something I hadn't gotten around to asking Nick about.

"So you're saying he kept him in the Forbidden Forest last year?" I asked. "And he wanted the three of you to take care of him?"

"Yes, but Dumbledore found Grawp a nice cave to stay in," Hermione told me. "We only had to see him twice, and he saved us from a herd of centaurs."

"And that's when they carried off Umbridge," I responded. It wasn't a question. "What happened that night? You don't have to tell me everything, but you promised me last year you'd tell me what I needed to know, and all we've heard are rumours. How did you lot end up there in the first place?"

"It's a long story, and I can't tell you all of it," Hermione said. "There are some things that I have to keep secret for Harry."

I nodded and then waved a hand to indicate that she should keep going.

"Well, you know by now that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather. That was in the Daily Prophet. Harry was tricked into thinking Sirius was at the Ministry, and so we went to rescue him. It was actually a trick by Voldemort-oh don't be ridiculous Barry!- Anyway, it was a trick to lure Harry there to grab something only Harry could touch, and we had to fight," Hermione said.

"A prophecy..." I said slowly. "So the Chosen One thing is true?"

Dad had told me all about the Hall of Prophecy, so I was able to connect two and two together. No one but the person who the prophecy was made for could touch it. I supposed that was there the Chosen One thing had come from. I'd read that they'd been in there last year, and You-Know-Who had obviously wanted to hear it.

"Not the way the Ministry is making it out to be," Hermione answered.

"But how was he tricked by You-Know-Who? And was it because of you three that Sirius escaped all those years ago? Obviously, you lot knew he was innocent, and so you must have done something to save Sirius and now that I think of it, Hagrid's hippogriff as well," I said.

"I can't tell you how he was tricked," Hermione answered. "And yes, we had a part in and that's all I'll say on that."

I grinned at her. "The three of you are involved with everything."

"Not by choice," she said with a weak grin back.

I considered mentioning to her that after being through so much with Ron, it would be best to make it up to him. However, I had a feeling I would get my head bit off if I did, so I kept my thoughts to myself. I had a feeling the situation would resolve on its own anyway. The three had been through so much together that they wouldn't end their friendship. Their friendship was likely a lot stronger than mine with Nick and Tasha and we'd made it up.

"Is there any news on the You Know What?" I asked. "Mum and dad haven't told us much."

"We weren't around meetings last summer and we haven't heard anything new," Hermione told me. "It's not exactly a secret anymore though, Barry. The Order of the Phoenix is out in the open now that Voldemort- do you really need to jump so much? I thought you were smart. All of it's in the open, so we don't have to be secretive anymore."

"Well, I'm just not used to people saying the name so casually," I said. "It has nothing to do with being smart. I don't believe I am since I can't get an O in anything besides Sluggy's class, and sometimes I think it's favouritism."

"A wise man once said: 'Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself,'" Hermione said. "But everyone struggles in fifth year."

"I'm sure you were marked with all O's last year. You likely got all O's on your OWLs," I said. "And that's Dumbledore. He doesn't fear anything."

"I'm not so sure about that, but I wasn't marked all O's for classwork," Hermione told me. "I did decently on my exams but during the school year, I struggled as much as you or anyone else. Your OWL results in the summer will matter more than an essay in Herbology."

"I sure hope you're right," I said. "Tell me more about sixth year then. Is it just as hard?"

"We're not assigned as much as we were last year, but the work is so much more advanced. I struggle with Arithmancy quite a bit," she admitted. "So I'm telling you now that even if you do well in Divination, you should drop it next year. Take only the classes that you will need."

I nodded and let her continue. I hoped I'd be able to patrol with Hermione for often. There were certain people who I wanted to avoid, but I enjoyed working with her. I just really hoped things would work out between Ron and her.

* * *

I wanted to take both Nick and Tasha to Slughorn's party since they both wanted to go. All three of us needed a fun night out, but unfortunately, I would only be allowed to take one with me. I'd promised Tasha before Nick, and I couldn't back down on that. I could tell Nick was disappointed that he was going to be left out but he tried to remain positive about it.

"Guess who I heard Harry is taking?" Nick asked the evening before the party.

"Romilda?" I asked.

I just hoped she hadn't managed to drug him with a love potion. Hermione told me just that day she'd heard Romilda Vane and some other girls trying to figure out a way to slip Harry some love potion, and that she was frustrated because she had no proof. I could tell she was worried that it was going to happen to her best friend. I'd told her my thoughts on the Weasley's selling that stuff. They shouldn't be allowed at all, and definitely not to underage kids.

"Nope," Nick said smiling. "Luna!"

"Luna!?" Tasha and I asked simultaneously.

"You're joking!" I said.

"Nope. You know the Hogwarts rumour mill," Nick said with a grin. "Besides, I just ran into her, and she told me it's true. She is excited, she said it was very nice of him to ask her because she was never invited to parties as friends. Guess she forgot about your pool party years ago. Good for her though, you know? Gretchen is positively angry and so are many other girls."

"Did Gretchen really think she had a chance?" I asked. "They don't even know each other."

"But that's almost all the girls in this school," Tasha laughed. "Even your little first year admirers were hoping he'd take them. I overheard Margaret talking about it."

"Gee I'm hurt," I said feigning hurt. "I thought I was the man for them."

"Considering you're not a man, that could be why," Nick said with a grin.

"You just wish it was you," I said. "You don't even get to go."

"Yes, he does!"

Brianne rushed over to join us. She took a seat at our table and grinned over at Nick.

"All the boys in my year are stupid, and I know you really want to hang out with Tasha and Barry. Do you want to come with me? You're like my second older brother and I don't know who else to take. Hilda is trying to get me to take her, but I know she's just going to try and flirt with Barry all night," Brianne said.

"What about your other friends?" Tasha asked.

"Harriet is going with someone, Isabella is part of the club, and the others don't want to go," Brianne said. "So I thought I would help my older brothers. Don't worry, you don't have to hang out with lil ole me all night."

"Well, if you're sure," Nick said winking at her. "Bet I get made fun of for having a date with a twelve-year-old though."

"I'm almost thirteen," Brianne said folding her arms while she pretended to pout.

"Still just a kid," Nick told her. "Besides, I'm almost sixteen. They'll still laugh at me."

"Guess I can just take Brenda then," Brianne responded and then stuck her tongue out.

"Ah, I guess I can handle hanging out with a twelve-year-old for one night," Nick responded letting out a long exaggerated sigh.

Brianne giggled and then got back up.

"I'll see you tomorrow, and you owe me," Brianne said before walking off.

"Brilliant," Nick said as he watched her go. "Do you think Slughorn will let us drink tomorrow? I bet he will. He's a cool bloke, he'd probably look the other way."

I grinned. I owed Brianne too. I would have to do something for her over the holidays. I was willing to bet that she had plenty of people to take, but she'd asked Nick for my sake. She knew how much I wanted them both to go.

* * *

The next evening, Nick and I were finishing up on a Defense essay while we waited for Brianne and Tasha. What was surprising was they'd left to get ready about five that afternoon and it was almost eight. We'd been watching different people leave the common room for the past half hour. Even Brenda was going. She and Kendra must have been getting along a lot better because she was Kendra's guest. The two of them had left about fifteen minutes ago.

"What can be taking so long?" Nick asked. "I was ready in ten minutes."

We'd both changed into our dress robes an hour ago. Mum had picked out a Ravenclaw blue pair for me to wear to parties back in the summer. I'd packed them not realizing I would actually need them. Nick was dressed in plain black. We were both ready to go as soon as Tasha and Brianne showed up, but they were taking forever. I knew girls could take a long time, but this seemed excessive. I began reading through my essay trying to think how Snape would critique me. My marks were still Acceptables in his class, and I was hoping soon I'd get Exceeds Expectations. I crossed out a sentence to fix later on.

"Woah!" Nick suddenly exclaimed.

I glanced up wondering why, but it only took a moment for me to realize what he'd seen. Brianne and Tasha were walking over to us all dressed up. Brianne looked at least fourteen with the way she'd done her makeup, and she looked too pretty. I didn't like the way Nick was looking at my twelve-year-old sister. I glared over at him but he didn't seem to notice. He finally looked away from her thankfully. I looked back at Tasha who looked breath-taking. She was always so beautiful, but that night she almost looked the same as she'd done last year after she'd taken the aging potion.

"What do you think boys?" Tasha asked grinning at us.

"You are nothing but gorgeous," I told her. "You always are."

"What about me?" Brianne asked. "It took me forever to put my hair up like this."

She had it up in a bun with some strands of curled hair hanging by her face. She'd found some kind tiara to put in her hair.

"You look good too," I said. "Older."

"That's what I was going for," Brianne said beaming. "Are you still embarrassed to have a twelve-year-old as your date, Nick?"

"It's not a date," I said quickly.

"I'm not embarrassed to have my friend take me," Nick said as he glanced over at me in alarm. "We should get going eh? Why don't you two wait outside for us? I just need to ask Barry something. You made us wait, after all, we will make you wait now."

The girls both laughed and then walked off talking to each other in fast excited voices. I could hear Tasha telling Brianne that she was glad to finally have another girl to hang out with and get ready with as they went. I wondered what Nick wanted to ask me. Was he going to ask if I had plans to do anything about my crush on Tasha that night?

"What's wrong mate?" I asked him.

"Look, you know that Brianne is just a little sister to me right? She's twelve after all. We're going just as friends, and that's it," he said quickly.

"It did look as if you liked what you saw," I accused. So Nick _had_ noticed my annoyance. "You looked shocked."

"Because she went from looking like a little girl to grown up," Nick said. "She's your baby sister. If you must know, she actually wanted to take a boy in her year but she was too nervous to ask him. So she asked me so all three of us could go. She's doing this for _you_."

"How do you know she likes some boy? She's too young," I said.

"We were the same age Barry, and she told me," he responded.

"Why didn't she tell me?" I asked.

"Because you'd go all big brother on her. I think you'll be ten times worse with her than you've been with Brenda, and so does she. She sees me as another big brother, just not one that will go mad if she brings up boys. She asks me or even Tasha for advice sometimes. She didn't want me to tell you, but I'm breaking my promise to her because I could see how upset you were. She's twelve and she looks like a little girl to me. I would never go for your sisters because you're my best mate," Nick explained. "So please just relax, and let's go have a good time."

"I'm not that bad am I?" I asked as I stood up.

I didn't like the fact that my sister couldn't even confide in me. I always wanted both Brianne and Ben to come to me about their troubles, especially when it came to dating.

"You have your moments mate," Nick said as he got up. "And the last thing I need is for you to think that things are happening when they aren't. I wouldn't do that to you."

I sighed and nodded.

"We're good. I really do need to try and stop, don't I?" I asked thinking about Brianne's distrust.

"You mean well, but yes. Brianne is going to date soon, and you need to leave her alone," Nick responded. "Now come on. They're likely getting impatient."

"They made us wait," I responded with a smile.

We walked through the common room, and past the first years.

"Have fun, Barry!"

I glanced over at them to see Susie and Margaret grinning at me. Sasha, the shy girl from sorting night was sitting with them. She looked up at me and then looked away when I looked back at her. Her cheeks began to redden. I was glad to see she'd found some friends. I needed to ask Tasha how that had come about. Margaret and Susie both nudged her and then the three dissolved into giggles before they all looked at Nick. They began giggling even harder.

Nick smirked at me and shook his head.

"Girls are so funny," he said. "That little one is adorable. The shy one with blond hair."

"Sasha," I said.

We exited the common room to find Tasha and Brianne still talking excitedly on the top step.

"Took you two long enough," Tasha said grinning.

"Yes well, we waited three hours for you two," I said walking over to her. I held my arm out for her to take, which she did. She grinned up at me.

"Who would have thought Hoofer could be a gentleman," Nick joked behind me.

"I guess he can have his moments," Brianne said.

I ignored them as we headed down the steps. I wondered who was all going to be there. Slughorn had apparently invited guests outside of Hogwarts as well. The Slug Club had really expanded since the beginning of the school year. Behind us, Nick and Brianne were talking about some vampire that Slughorn invited. I didn't say anything, but to me, that sounded like some mad thing Luna would come up with up. Would the school really allow a vampire to be allowed? I supposed it was possible since they'd let Lupin teach a few years ago. He wasn't a bad bloke, so I supposed if a vampire was there, they might not be bad either.

"I wonder if Luna is enjoying herself," Tasha said. "I'm glad she's invited to a party."

"And by Harry," I added.

I was pleased as well, and though she was friendly with us, I believed she was closer to the Gryffindors. She spoke so highly of the trio, Ginny, and Neville Longbottom. I knew she missed the DA immensely as well.

As far as I knew, they weren't running it that year. Hermione hadn't mentioned it to me at all, and I figured she would have if it was still happening. I assumed with Umbridge gone that they'd decided against it. I likely wouldn't have had time for it anyway.

I was glad Luna had more friends though, and I knew it bothered Gretchen so much that Luna of all people was close to Harry. I knew it bothered her at times that we were friendly with Hermione. She'd once made a comment that we only talked to Hermione to get close to Harry. At dinner recently, I'd brought up Hermione in passing when it came to OWLs, and she'd made a rather rude comment about me trying to get close to Harry. I was glad she didn't know much about what happened with Romilda because she would latch onto it. She didn't seem to believe that it was Hermione who'd originally talked to me and not the other way around.

"Yes, Gretchen was so spiteful to her when we were getting ready," Tasha said. "She said some rude things to me of course, you know, since we're going together, but she was quite rude to Luna. Luna just looked at her. She didn't even say anything."

"I don't understand why most of these girls think they had a chance," I said. "He doesn't know most of them, and from what Hermione says, he has always tried to stick to people he knows. He isn't the most trusting bloke. He's not going to pick some random fourth-year girl. He picked Luna because they fought together at the Ministry, and he knows she isn't just talking to him because of his fame."

"Gretchen has never had much common sense," Tasha said.

As soon as entered the corridor where Slughorns office was located, we could hear loud music, loud voices and people laughing. The four of us sped up quickly. The office was a lot bigger than most, or perhaps Slughorn had put some expansion charm on it. Either way, it was big enough to hold all the people who had been invited with some room. There were hangings on the walls to make it feel as if we were inside a tent or something. Tasha and Brianne let out excited squeals as they took it all in.

"Look, Slughorn is letting people drink," Nick said as he came to my side. "They're drinking wine or something."

"Good," I said before I turned to Brianne. "I'm still not a fan of you drinking, but if you have to, just have a bit of wine."

"I'm not going to get drunk big brother," Brianne said with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm going to go look for my friends. I'll see you three later I expect."

We began to walk around looking for people we knew. As we got close to Slughorn who was standing with a group of people, who included Slughorn and Harry, Tasha suddenly nudged my side.

"There's the vampire," she whispered in my ear. "With Slughorn."

It was obvious who he was right away. He had dark circles around his eyes, he was pale, and he was way too thin and tall. There was a group of girls who actually seemed curious (or god forbid, interested) about him, including Brenda. I narrowed my eyes at her noticing she seemed quite unlike herself. Brenda was very rarely a giggler over boys. She'd always found girls who did get like that annoying. Yet, she and Kendra stood among the group of girls, staring at him and giggling. We'd studied vampires, but I couldn't remember if they had some kind of power to them, such as the kind Veela had with men. It was just very strange for her.

"So apparently Brenda likes vampires," Nick said with amusement. "Now come on, let's go get some wine."

I turned away and we began looking around for drinks. There were House Elves walking around with trays of food or drinks. We found one with the drinks, and the three of us scooped of some drinks from it before we began wandering around. As we did so, I heard my name called. I turned to see Lance, Glenda, Anita, and John. It had been so long since I'd last seen the foursome altogether like this. The three of us made our way over to them.

"Not really surprised to see you're one of Sluggy's favourites," Glenda said once we were close enough. "And you were both made prefects as well!"

"Well, someone didn't feel the need to show up to all of his duties," Lance said smirking at me. "Had to cover for the git once."

"I am sorry about that," I told him but Lance only shrugged.

"I haven't been the best prefect," he responded. "I can't really judge. We all do stupid things, and you came to your senses faster than I did."

"So how are you three?" Anita asked excitedly.

She was bouncing on her toes a bit which I found a bit off. I wondered if she had a bit too much wine to drink or something. She seemed almost hyper, and she usually wasn't

"Great," Tasha said. "It's nice we can actually have a fun night and forget OWLs for at least a night. You must be feeling the same way about NEWTs."

"NEWT year is nowhere near as bad as OWL year," John said quickly. "We're given a lot of homework, and it's quite advanced, but it's still a lot less stressful than fifth year. We don't have five years of study to get through. If you're smart like some people, you'll take three classes."

"You only took three classes because you failed most of your OWLs," Lance said rolling his eyes.

"I passed six, but I don't need them," John retorted. "Not everyone can get all O's."

"I didn't get all O's," Lance argued back.

"They've been at this since we got our results back," Glenda said. "You'd think they'd stop by now. I bet they're still fighting about it when we're old and grey."

"How did you do?" I asked her.

I knew she'd wanted to do really well in the core classes, and she'd been stressing about it quite a bit. I would have given anything to be in their place at the moment. I couldn't wait until we'd done our exams and we could compare them the way the seventh years were.

"Decently," Glenda said. "But I've only kept four classes. Anita and Lance are the only idiots to keep all classes that they get OWLs in. I'm sure you'll be that type too. From what I remember, you were an overachiever as well."

"No," I said shaking my head. "I'm not keeping History of Magic or Divination. I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to keep Herbology as well. I'll wait until they hand out those Ministry job pamphlets before I make my mind up completely."

"Enough about school work," Nick said rolling his eyes. "I'm tired of thinking about it all the time," he grinned over Anita. "Why don't we dance?" And he held his hand out to her.

Anita's face lit right up. I always wondered if she'd had a slight crush on him when we first all met. I knew she'd fancied Lance, but she used to look at Nick with such hope. He'd been with a second year, Ruby at the time. Now he was grinning at her the way he used to when he first met girls he was attracted to. She reached out and took his hand happily. There was a fast song on at the moment. The two of them rushed out, holding hands and then began to dance fast.

I turned to Tasha who was watching them.

"Let's go," I said taking her hand.

She beamed at me, and then we hurried out to dance with Anita and Josh. Glenda and Lance joined us soon, but John stood back and looked around the room. We danced for a few songs before Tasha, and I stepped back to lean against the wall, and drink a few. By that point, John had disappeared somewhere. Glenda, Lance, Nick, and Anita were still dancing up a storm.

"It's hot in here," I observed after taking a few sips of the wine. I was sweating quite a bit, and even the wine wasn't helping.

"Brianne is dancing with some bloke," Tasha pointed out, she was nodding to our left.

I turned to look, but I did my best to remember not to get angry. I had to let her be, but I was curious. She was with a few other second years, dancing with some second year Hufflepuff boy. She looked like she was having so much fun, so I looked away quickly.

"Mistletoe," Tasha suddenly said.

She was looking up and pointing to the ceiling. I glanced up as well to see it directly over our heads. I don't know what made me do it, but I glanced back at Tasha and then strode forward to close the space between us. I leaned down and kissed her. Tasha kissed me back. We pulled away moments later; I suddenly felt embarrassed. She was likely wondering why I'd done that and hadn't wanted to embarrass me by pulling away.

"It's what you do under the mistletoe," I said quickly smiling at her. "We should dance again."

"I'm just going to finish this and then use the loo," she told me sounding a little odd. "Maybe you can bring Nick under here next."

She was smiling, but I thought it look sad, and I wondered why that was.

"Maybe I should," I replied hoping this wasn't going to change things between us.

I'd been an idiot to kiss her, but I wasn't thinking. I wasn't sure what was wrong with my lately. I was getting impulsive and not thinking straight. It would be the second time it would affect Tasha, and it was all because I fancied her. I watched her go and then grabbed another goblet of wine from a passing house elf.

Nick was over beside me so fast; he could have apparated.

"What the hell was that?" He asked me. "Are you two-"

"No," I interrupted, and then I pointed up at the mistletoe for an explanation.

"Mate, you're a git," Nick said as he too looked up.

"Well, she did say I should snog you next," I told him with a wink. "So if you're willing..."

"I think I'll pass," he responded with a smirk. "But maybe I'll bring Anita over here instead."

"Something going to happen between you two?" I asked as I looked around for her.

I didn't see the seventh years anywhere. The crowd of dancing students was now standing around while they waited for another song to begin. I'd missed out on all of it once I'd snogged Tasha. I was still dazed that I'd done it.

"I dunno, but I could make it happen by snogging her," he answered. "Though I'd make it seem that it's more than a kiss between two friends. You realize that's what she thinks, don't you?"

"She needs to think that," I said. "It was stupid and impulsive for me to do it."

"Or it was smart," Nick said with a shrug. "Maybe it's time you two do something. There's a war going on mate. Is it better to ignore something while you may still have the chance?"

"In other words, make a move because either one of us may end up dead?" I asked skeptically.

"It's a possibility that the three of us aren't going to make it through this," Nick replied. "Chester and Ralph tried telling you that last year, they just didn't say it in those words. It's why they wanted you to make up with Brenda. You read the Daily Prophet every day. If they don't do something about You-Know-Who soon, it's going to be one of our families, and Tasha is muggle-born. By now they'll know who the muggle-borns here are. They'll have their kids spying for them. Harper has more than likely sold Tasha out, and since we're her best friends, we'll be on their list as well."

"I don't want to date someone just because I might die tomorrow," I said. "Besides, you were telling me that we're too immature to date."

"I just wanted to knock some sense into you. You weren't getting it, and I doubt you'll make that mistake again," Nick answered. "But in you're going to be snogging her than maybe you should. Obviously, you can't hold back."

"It was a one-time thing with the mistletoe," I said. "Friends can kiss without it meaning anything. We're not twelve anymore, we both know it doesn't seal the deal anymore."

Nick laughed.

"I remember you telling me to do that with Samaira. If only things were as simple as they were back then. We thought just holding hands meant that it was a big deal," he said, and then he looked at me seriously. "But you do know it means more between you and Tasha. If you snogged another girl I'd say it's between friends, but not when it comes to her."

"It does," I said firmly. "Let's not talk about it anymore."

Nick hesitated and looked as if he was going to argue but he finally just shrugged and looked away. We both looked around at the students all dancing. The four seventh years were dancing together, this time, John was dancing with Anita. A slow song had come on, so any couple dancing was holding each other close. I spotted Brianne with the same bloke from earlier. She was smiling at him while they danced. I did my best to push away that big brother feeling. After all, it didn't mean anything. Twelve-year-olds weren't serious when it came to dating. We'd just discussed that.

"You know Hermione came here with _Cormac McLaggen_? What is she thinking?" Nick suddenly said.

"Probably trying to make Weasley jealous," I responded. "I have no idea who that is."

Though it seemed a bit out of character for her to do that, but I supposed anyone could be spiteful when they wanted to make someone jealous. Hermione was usually too mature for that kind of thing. From the way Nick had just said the name of the bloke, I was assuming he was some git, however.

"He's a seventh year Gryffindor," Nick said. "Acts like a big shot and he's one of Sluggy's favourites. That's what Ginny told me anyway. I just know of him because I caught him trying to bully some second years out of a carriage at the beginning of the year. He's quite arrogant, and as soon as I approached him about it, he threatened to hex me. We just let the second years sit with us instead."

"Then Hermione will probably ditch him right away," I said. "She won't tolerate that. She's upset that Ron has a girlfriend; so she likely just invited whomever to annoy him. Maybe she knows he is a big git, and that's why she chose him. Anyway, there's Tasha back with the seventh years. We should go over, and maybe you can entice Anita over here."

We headed back to the seventh years and Tasha, who were all just standing in a circle now and talking. Each had a goblet of wine in their hands. I moved over to Tasha's side, while Nick grinned over at Anita who smiled back.

"Ready for another dance?" I asked Tasha who looked sad.

I wondered if something had happened. I looked around at each of the four seventh years faces, but none of them seemed put out. Anita was even more giddy than before, and I wondered just how much wine she'd had.

"Sure," Tasha said turning to me. "But I think I want to go to bed soon. You know, we need to be up early for the train."

"Are you okay?" I asked with concern. She still seemed off.

"I'm just tired," she said. "So let's go have that dance, and then I'm going to go back."

"I'll go back too, then," I said as I took her hand and then led her back out to the 'dance floor.'

"You don't have to," she said as a slow song came on.

"I'm feeling quite beat as well," I lied. "Besides, I think Nick is hoping to make something happen with Anita. He might take her over to the mistletoe later."

"Well, good luck to him then," Tasha responded.

Things felt awkward between us, and I believed it had to do with the kiss. I was such an idiot to be so impulsive. In the future, I would remember not to be like that with her again. The last thing I wanted was to ruin our friendship, especially after I'd just gotten her back. She was going to my place for Christmas and we didn't need for things to be strange at home either.

* * *

Mum and dad were there waiting for us when we arrived but Ben wasn't there, so I knew they were just planning to apparate us all home again. I didn't like the fact that Ben was home alone again though. However, mum reassured me that they'd just gotten there. Mum took a hold of mine and Tasha's hands while dad took a hold of Brianne and Brenda. They quickly turned on the spot so that we were going through that uncomfortable, suffocating feeling of Apparition. Just as soon as it started though, my feet hit the ground and I could smell pine.

I opened my eyes and gazed around the living room which had been decorated more than usual. It wasn't our turn to host the annual Christmas party, so maybe they just wanted to lighten things up. There were even decorations hanging from the ceiling.

"It was Ben's idea to make things more festive," mum answered my unasked question. "Why don't we sit down, and you can tell us about your first terms. We'll just send your trunks upstairs."

And with a wave of her wand, our trunks disappeared and distant thumps told us that they were all upstairs now. I sighed and then took a seat on the couch. Ben rushed over to sit down beside me while Tasha sat on my other side, and Brianne sat beside Tasha. Brenda took a seat in one of the chairs. She looked rather moody and I wondered why. Granted we'd barely spoken between September and recently. The last time she'd spoken to me was to tell me that I wasn't doing well enough on my OWLs and I'd ignored her.

Last year, Brianne had gone first, but she'd taken forever, so I decided to go first just in case she felt the need to tell them everything. I didn't have much to say, and I wasn't going to bring Romilda up. I just gave them the cliff notes version, and then Brenda followed suit. She told them less than I had. She just stared down at her knees while she spoke. Brianne beamed while she told us all about her first term, and as I suspected, she felt the need to tell them everything.

"Good, good," dad said looking distracted when Brianne finished. "So why don't you all unpack. We need to talk to Tasha for a moment."

"Why?" I said abruptly as Brianne and Brenda stood up.

Mum and dad were suddenly looking at her with concern, and I worried it had to do with her parents. Tasha suddenly seemed very frightened.

"I suppose you should stay for this," mum said, but she looked at Ben, Brianne, and Brenda. "But why don't the three of you go upstairs."

Brenda continued on, but neither Ben or Brianne moved. They just stared at mum and dad, both now looking very worried.

"Why?" Brianne asked. "She's my friend too. If something bad has happened-"

"Nothing bad has happened," dad told her. "Tasha can tell you two later. We just want to talk to her without everyone watching."

"I'll talk to you two later," Tasha assured Ben and Brianne who nodded.

Brianne took hold of Ben's hand, and the two walked off. As I watched them go, I noticed that Ben had grown even more since the summer. He was just a couple inches shorter than Brianne now. It was hard to believe that he used to be a little pipsqueak as I watched him now. I hadn't even been that tall at ten, and I wondered if that meant he'd be even taller than me when he was my age. I would be sixteen the next day.

"Did something happen to my parents?" Tasha demanded the moment they were gone.

"Well, yes and no," mum answered before she looked at dad. Tasha's eyes widened even more in fear. She reached out to grab my hand, and I squeezed back to reassure her. Hadn't dad just said nothing bad had happened or had he said that so Brianne and Ben would leave?

"Several Death Eaters did go to your home, but our spells held," dad told her. "We were worried for a repeat visit and next time they may have gotten in, so we've moved your parents out for the time being. They are safe," he added as Tasha's eyes began to water. "We stopped by and took as many things as we can for you and your parents that very night. We've reinforced the spells, and so far, no one has returned, but we'll be watching very closely for you. I hope you don't mind that we went through your belongings, but we figured you'd want most of it. It's all upstairs in Barry's room at the moment, and we've sent your parents some of their things, and the rest is stored in the attic. If they do go back, the house will look relatively empty except some furniture."

Tasha nodded, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks. I reached over to wipe them away before I hugged her tightly. They'd kept their promise, her parents were safe, and I knew if it came down to it, they would hide her away as well. I just hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

"Thank you," Tasha said pulling away from me. "But maybe it's best I don't stay here. If they went for my parents, they might try to come for me next. It's probably best if I'm with my parents right now. They went after them for a reason, and they'll know I'm not at Hogwarts. They probably assume I'm with Nick or Barry. I don't want either of your families in danger. There is Ben, and Noah and-"

"You're safe here," mum told her quickly. "We have so many protective spells on our grounds and house. The Death Eaters don't know where we live yet either. It will take something as big as the Ministry falling for them to get to us, but even then, it won't be easy. They never got through to us during the first war and they won't again."

"Your parents..." Dad began, and he suddenly looked very disapproving. "If we have to hide you, we have a different safe house for you. Your parents do not wish for you to stay with them. I'm very sorry to tell you that my dear. For now, this is your home until You-Know-Who is gone. We'll know if they come here the moment they do anyway. We can hide all five of you right away."

"If we have to hide her, she should stay here," I said. "If your protective spells hold-"

"The only way we can do that is if all of us go into hiding," mum told me. "We're trying to hold off on that. If they break through our spells, we'll all have to leave. We have someone who is already in hiding and who is willing to take her in. He knows she might be coming, and he is prepared. He used to be a tutor back in his day so he can tutor her, and the four of you as well if it comes down to it. Of course, you won't be able to use your wands, but you can practice the movements. If we have to go into hiding soon then, of course, Tasha can stay here. Your dad will be our secret keeper when that happens. For now, we want to let the four of you get your education. Hogwarts is the safest place for Tasha to be at the moment."

"I should have stayed for the holidays then," Tasha said with worry. "I don't want your family hurt because of me, and I don't want you lot to have to go into hiding."

"For now, we have no reason to believe they are after you my dear," dad said.

"But her parents-" I began.

"Because they know they have a muggle-born daughter," dad said. "That does not mean they are specifically after Tasha. It just means they are going after anyone they can. They've been attacking different families, muggle, half-blood, and pureblood traitors. It's a sport for them, but they aren't their biggest concern. There are two main people they are truly after right now. I believe Tasha is safe with us, even if we are blood traitors. We're all in danger either way, but no one has come here yet."

"If you're sure," Tasha said uncertainly. "But I want you to let me know if it becomes too much. If dangerous people arrive here-"

"All five of you will be going to the safe house until we know the danger has passed," dad responded.

"A tutor?" I asked. "Are you meaning your cousin Jerome, dad?"

"Yes, but do not mention him while you're at Hogwarts," dad said quickly. "He's been underground for years, and it's best if they believe he still is. As far as most people know, our family hasn't been in contact with him since you were small."

I remembered meeting Jerome when I was quite young, and I knew he and dad were close in their school days as they'd been in the same year and in Ravenclaw. However, he'd never been the same since the first war. He'd been a great tutor in his day. He would teach children whose parents did not wish to send them to Hogwarts, and he'd been very respected in the Wizarding World at one point because he was so good at it. However, most people thought he'd gone mad since and he no longer taught anyone. I honestly believed he had as well since mum and dad hadn't mentioned him since I was Ben's age.

"Isn't be a bit... well, mad?" I finally asked.

"No, he just doesn't trust too many people," mum said. "The moment he found out that You-Know-Who was back last year, he began to prepare. We've been in contact with him, however, the same way we are with you and your siblings. We mentioned Tasha and her parents, and he said he'd be willing to take them in. When The Daily Prophet revealed that You-Know-Who was back, he officially went into hiding by becoming his own secret keeper. He came to visit us to tell us the location just in case we needed him. We still talk to him."

"So where are Tasha's parents staying then?" I asked.

"We set them up with the Order," mum told me. "They're being provided for and cared for. The Order can protect anyone better than we can, and they've promised to give us added protection if we need it."

"And we will, won't we?" I asked alarmed. "I mean, I know you and dad are great, but they have Dumbledore!"

"Yes dear, if we need to do so, we will. We'll only do it so the three of you can remain in school," mum said. "For now, we don't believe it's needed. They've never gotten past our protective spells before."

I wanted them to put the extra protection on us now, but I didn't say this. I just sat back while Tasha and my parents talked for a little longer. Once they were done, we stood up to go upstairs. When we entered the foyer to go upstairs, it was to find Brianne and Ben standing together with extendible ears. I just shook my head at them, but I wasn't angry. We would have told them everything anyway. I just beckoned for them to follow us up the steps. Tasha was quickly blinking back tears as we went.

"They'll be safe," I told her once we reached the top.

"I know," she said and then she hugged me. "I'm just worried, but it's not just that. They don't even want me when they're being protected by the very thing they fear. They'll accept help, but they still don't want their daughter. I feel like this is all my fault, if I hadn't been a witch, they might not be in this situation."

"They would be because You-Know-Who is out there. They kill random muggles, and they might have turned up at your house either way," Brianne said. "Your parents just don't have good sense!"

We entered my bedroom to find that one of my beds was done up in a thick pink comforter, and pink pillows. It looked kind of odd in the all blue room. There were several boxes stacked up against the wall opposite of our beds.

"Didn't you know about any of this?" I asked turning to Ben who had remained quiet. "You must have seen that my room is different."

He shook his head.

"Mum and dad keep your door locked when you aren't home. I haven't slept in here in years, so they don't see the need to leave it open. Maybe they did it at night," Ben told me. "They have been really secretive lately, but I just thought it had to do with You-Know-Who. I've been so bored lately, I'm not even allowed out to play in the snow. I have to stay inside all the time."

"That's for the best," I said as I walked over to sit on my bed. "Anything can happen if you're out on your own."

"But why haven't you been doing as well on your school work?" Ben said. "You said you only get A's or E's and only O's in Potions."

"OWL year is really hard Ben," Tasha said as she joined me on the bed. "You should see the amount of homework we have just for the holidays. They mark differently than they did last year."

"We rarely see him much anymore," Brianne said flopping onto Tasha's bed. "If we do, he's doing homework, studying, or doing his prefect duties. Hagrid misses you though," she added to me. "He was hoping he'd see you and Tasha, but he's only seen Nick so far and only Tasha in classes."

"Why do they give so much homework then?" Ben asked as he sat beside Brianne. "It seems counterproductive if students are just going to get stressed. None of you can do your best."

"They need to cram five years of school work into us before we do our exams," Tasha told him. "But I do think there should be a better way to do it. I just don't know how."

"I'm just glad I'm a second year," Brianne sighed. "And we have more school work than we did last year. Snape is also making us learn two years worth of Defense Against the Dark Arts in class. He's so harsh too."

"Believe me we know," Tasha said before smiling over at Ben. "Be glad you don't have to worry about it for another year and a half."

"I'd rather have the homework," Ben said. "I'm so bored."

"Tell you what, you can do mine," I said getting up quickly.

I rushed over to my trunk and began pulling out my school work. The first I grabbed was Transfiguration. We not only had a three-foot-long essay, but we also had an assignment to define ten spells and write at least five hundred words for each of their uses. We were to practice for those who stayed at school, and those who didn't had to read up the theory so we'd be ready to practice when we got back. Ben got up to join me as I placed the pile of Transfiguration homework on the ground.

"This isn't too bad," Ben said. "You'll get this all done in half a day!"

"That's only Transfiguration mate," I told him, and I reached into grab everything else which I'd set right at the top of my trunk in a pile. I set it down on top of the Transfiguration homework. " _This_ is all of it!"

Ben's mouth dropped open as he took it all in.

"Blimey, how are you going to do all of that before the end of the holidays? You won't even get to relax!"

"And now you understand why my marks aren't higher," I told him. "We're all exhausted and stressed. It's not just OWLs but the war as well. Trust me, you're lucky that your biggest problem is that you're bored. We'll get this all done by New Years though."

"It's not my _biggest_ problem," Ben muttered. "I read The Daily Prophet too. I know what's happening and I worry about all four of you every day, and Nick too. Sometimes I wish we could just go into hiding. I don't overhear too much anymore. Mum and dad know about the extendible's and they've been putting an Imperturbable Charm on the door whenever they don't want me to overhear."

"I expect they'll do that now as well with all of us home," Brianne said with a sigh. "I was hoping we'd be able to overhear everything that's going on. They know more than they are letting on. They promised they'd be honest with us."

"Well, that's when all of us need to unite and talk to them," I said. "Which means we need to get Brenda involved as well. What's up with her anyway? She seems moody. I'm surprised she hasn't been on my case for anything."

"Brenda is always moody," Ben said.

He was still going through my homework. He was currently reading one of my Arithmancy assignments. He moved it aside, and his eyes fell on my Divination homework. I was supposed to learn how to read symbols in flames, and I had a lot of reading over the holidays, plus an essay on why it's harder for humans to understand than centaurs.

"I hope you're dropping this after this year," he told me before moving onto my Ancient Runes school work.

"Erm... well, there is a boy she really fancies," Brianne began. "I mean, she likes him a lot and last night she saw him snogging some girl under the mistletoe. I think it made it worse for her that the girl was a Slytherin. She left crying and I had to try and cheer her up but it didn't work. It's some boy in Ravenclaw fourth year but she didn't tell me his name. She's been kind of sad since last year after Darren broke up with her."

"Well, I'm sure the holidays will help her get over it," I said.

"What about you?" Tasha asked Brianne. "You seemed rather close to that boy last night."

Brianne glanced at me nervously and then shrugged.

"He's rather nice but I don't know if anything will happen," she said. "We had a lot of fun though."

I knew she was holding back because of me. I didn't want either of my sisters to worry that I was going to interfere anymore. It wasn't fair to them so I just smiled at her reassuringly.

"If he is smart he will like you," I told her.

Both Tasha and Brianne looked at me in surprise. I couldn't blame them. After all, they knew how much I'd been annoyed the year before when Brenda dated.

"Anyway, we should go talk to Brenda. All five of us need to be united," I said. "We won't bother her about whoever this bloke is. We need to stick together and make sure that mum and dad tell us the truth about everything for the next couple of weeks."


	40. Fifth Year Part Five

I woke up the next day and stretched. It felt so good to be home. Whatever had been bothering Tasha had passed. We'd stayed up late just talking until we were both really tired. I rolled over to look at her bed, but it was empty. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. As I did this, I noticed that across from me was a huge banner. My family had decorated for my birthday again. The banner read: HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY BARRY!

As soon as I read it, I felt excited. This time next year, I would finally be of age. I would be able to do magic outside of school, and I'd be able to annoy Brenda with it as well. I remembered thinking that sixteen was so old, and it would take forever to reach it. Now I was officially sixteen and I was almost a real man. I got out of bed quickly, rushed to my dresser to grab some clothes and then went into the bathroom to change.

When I got downstairs, it was to find the kitchen decorated for my birthday. I felt like I'd gone four years back in time to my first year. My family was waiting for me, but Nick was there as well. There was a stack of presents on the table. Were they trying to recreate my twelfth birthday?

"Happy birthday!" They all shouted.

Ben rushed over to me first and hugged me. I lifted him up and spun him before setting him down on his feet. He was a lot heavier than I remembered. He was laughing as he went back to the table.

"Sixteen," Nick said. "A year from today and you'll be of age."

"When did all of you plan this?" I asked looking at each person.

Dad pulled out his chair for me to sit in. I walked over and took a seat in it. Dad ruffled my hair the way he used to do when I was little. I closed my eyes enjoying it. There was nothing like being home with the ones who loved you. Everyone except mum walked over to the table and began taking their seats. I remembered when Brianne and Ben had fought over who would sit with who. However, now everyone had their own seating place, including Nick and Tasha. Dad took my usual spot.

"This morning," Tasha said, and she glanced over at Brenda. "It was her idea actually. Your mum went over to Nick's to see if he wanted to come over for the day."

I glanced over at Brenda in surprise. I would have thought it would have been my parent's idea, or Brianne's, Ben's or Tasha's. She was the last person I would have considered when it came to planning a party for me. She just shrugged as she took a seat back at the table.

"I know you've been stressed with OWLs and prefect duties," she told me. "I just thought you'd like a day to have fun. I've seen you in the common room late at night, and I know you get up early too."

"Well thanks," I told her smiling. "I really appreciate it."

"I just can't believe my baby is already sixteen," mum said with tears in her eyes.

She began piling my plate full of food before moving on to everyone else. She was sniffling a lot as she did so.

"You're all growing up so fast. Soon enough I won't have any babies left at home," she continued as she took a seat.

"Not soon enough," Ben muttered under his breath and I shot him a look.

"Well then maybe when I'm done at Hogwarts I'll just stay at home forever," I told her with a wink. "We'll do this on my thirtieth birthday as well. I'll stay in my bedroom, and you can hang up a banner that wishes me a Happy Thirtieth over my bed."

"Well thirty is pushing it, but you do know you can stay home for a few years," dad told me. "We don't expect you to move out the moment you're done Hogwarts. All four of you can stay home until you're ready to be on your own."

"We should all stay home until Ben is a year out of school then," I said. "That way you can have all four of us under the same roof again."

"I'm moving out the second I'm done Hogwarts," Ben said. "The rest of you lot can stay though. Eighteen is way too old to be living at home though."

"You'll be thinking differently by the time you're that age," mum told him. "Sometimes it's easier to stay home for at least a year to save money."

"I'm traveling when I'm done," Brianne said. "I just hope the war is done by that time."

"I'm sure it will be dear," mum said, but she didn't so sound sure. "Now, let's not worry about any of that right now. Let's just enjoy the fact that Barry is sixteen. Right now I love the fact that all of my children live under my roof, and I do hope it's this way for a few years yet."

We celebrated my birthday that morning, and then Nick's parents came later that afternoon with little Noah. He'd grown considerably since the last time I'd seen him. He was ten months old now and he was able to stand on unsteady feet. He couldn't go too far without without falling down. Ben and Brianne both tried to help him walk by holding onto his hands.

"It really is impressive how fast they can grow," Tasha said while we watched. "This time last year we were anticipating him coming, and now he's here and already ready to walk. I taught one of the kids I babysit how to walk the summer after first year. By the end of the summer, she was all over the place. She started out the same way that Noah did. I bet Noah will start walking a lot too if he has a lot of help all the time."

"He gets around quite fast by holding onto things," Nick said. "I was watching him while I was working on my Herbology essay and I looked down for a moment, and the next he was trying to get near the tree. Mum and dad have a shield charm around it, but he still tries to get past it. Last night he was throwing a temper tantrum because he wanted to get through it. I thought for a moment he'd break it with his underage magic. Mum and dad say he's already had some interesting ones."

"Does he like the toy broom we sent him?" Brianne asked. "It's not new, it used to mine and then Ben's, but we don't need it anymore. We both thought that Noah could use it."

"I had him flying around on it though mum got really nervous," Nick told her. "I held onto while he went but I don't think it will be long before he can fly around on it by himself."

"Ben was flying around on it by the time he was a year," I said. "He used to throw fits when we made him get off it. He loved the thing so much. Brianne and Ben used to fight over it all the time."

"All four of you fought over it," mum said as she came into the room with a tray of pumpkin juice. "We had more than one, but a certain child named Barry broke a couple. He thought it was fun to fly straight into the wall. The first time he did it, I nearly wet myself, but I got used to it after a while. There's a reason why all my breakables have charms on them. Barry was the worst, though Ben was a close second. The girls luckily were never too aggressive."

Nick started to laugh.

"I can see you flying straight at the wall," he said. "You should try it now, or when we go back to Hogwarts."

"It was because I bounced back," I explained. "Mum and dad had so many cushioning and shield charms on everything. I could fly into the vases and not break them, and I thought it was wicked."

One of my earliest memories was giggling while I flew straight into mum's vases only to bounce back each time.

"Try it now without the cushioning charms," Nick said.

"We'll try together," I told him. "We'll race to see who is the fastest and I'll give you a head start."

"And then you won't even go, and then I can look like a git," he said. "I see how it works."

"It's because you are a git," I told him.

"Git!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look over at Noah. Ben was holding his hands for him, but he was staring down at him with wide eyes. Noah was giggling as he gazed at each of in turn.

"Git!" He said.

"Oh no," Nick said. "Can we pretend that didn't happen? I don't think he has said a word before now."

I started to laugh.

"Your brother's first word is git," I said.

"And now it's time to be careful what you say," mum said with a weak smile. "Children pick up words quite easily. Usually, it's mama or dada, but it can be anything. Brianne's first word was 'no,' she used to say that to everything."

"Mum and dad are going to be so angry with me," Nick said as Noah started to repeat it over and over again. "I didn't think kids his age talked already."

"It depends on the child," mum said. "And I'm sure it will be fine dear."

She left the room, and Nick flopped on the couch and let out a sigh.

"With my luck, I'm grounded until next Christmas," he said.

"It's my fault as well," I said. "Ben and Brianne didn't talk until after their first birthdays and I don't remember when Brenda talked. Don't worry about it Nick; I'm sure they'll understand."

"Right, they'll understand that all their baby can say is 'git,'" Nick said.

Either mum had sent them out, or they'd overheard. Nick's parents appeared moments later. Nick glanced over at them nervously, but they were both smiling at him.

"Son, it's okay," Mr. Lawrence said. "It happens sometimes. We don't blame you at all. We should have told you that he'd be picking up on words very soon. We didn't think anything of it because you didn't talk until you were slightly older."

"Anyway, we are going to get going," Mrs. Lawrence added as she walked over to take Noah from Ben.

"Git!" Noah laughed as she lifted him up. He began clapping his hands.

"Just wait until you call your grandmum that," she said laughing. "You can stay a little longer Nick. Just be home by dinner, and don't stress about this. It happens."

Nick looked relieved as he nodded.

"Can you come back over with him sometimes?" Ben asked as Nick's parents began making their way to the fireplace. "I'll play with him. I get so bored here, and Sam isn't allowed over much anymore."

"Of course sweety," Mrs. Lawrence told him. "We'll be coming over more, and I think you are a great babysitter in training."

"Thanks," Ben said happily.

Once they were gone, the three of us went upstairs to work on some of our homework together. The last thing I wanted to do was do school work on my birthday, but I also wanted to get it done. The faster it was out of the way, the faster I could enjoy my holidays without worrying too much. We went up into my room where I locked the door, so we wouldn't be disturbed.

"This must be driving Brenda mad," Nick said as he took in Tasha's bed. "You two sharing a room and yet Ben and Brianne never had to. You and Tasha aren't even related."

"She got over it years ago," I said. "I think she's still annoyed about sharing with Brianne but she never complains about Tasha anymore. She hasn't even brought up the bedroom thing for a long time. I think she realized that there is no point in complaining. Besides, mum and dad know Tasha is more comfortable in here with me."

"She knows my circumstances as well," Tasha said. "She still doesn't like me, but she pities me, so she isn't going to throw a fit."

"So what are we going to get started on?" I asked.

My pile of homework was still on the floor from the night before. I knelt down and began going through it all.

"Whichever is the easiest," Nick said. "Mum and dad want me home by dinner."

"That would be History of Magic, believe it or not," I said as I rifled through it all. "Binn's set us the less amount of homework. Arithmancy looks like it has the most, and Ancient Runes is the second most."

"I hate you for convincing me to take them," Nick said. "If I only get A's in Arithmancy, I'm not continuing it. That's all I've been getting lately."

"I'm dropping any that I get A's in," Tasha said. "And obviously any that I fail. I just hope I don't fail the important ones such as Transfiguration."

"You should retake it if you want it," I told her. "We have the option of retaking any class we fail, but we want to keep. I'd recommend it if you need it for whichever career you choose."

"But doesn't that mean we can't leave in seventh year then?" Tasha asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I think the teachers help you prepare for NEWTs in seventh year for both years, but I could be wrong."

"I just don't see the sense in returning in seventh year for one class," Tasha said.

"I think we can discuss our options with our Head of Houses," Nick told her. "I doubt you'll fail Tasha, and neither will you Barry. You two are still close to the top of the year. You have to remember everyone is struggling."

Though Ben would get angry with me, I seriously considered just taking the classes I wanted to keep seriously while ignoring the other ones. I didn't plan to keep Divination and History of Magic for sure. While I wasn't going to fail on purpose, I wasn't going to study them as much as I would Transfiguration or Arithmancy. I didn't admit this to Nick or Tasha either. Later I might tell Nick, but I could see Tasha looking down on me for not studying it enough either. The three of us gathered our books together and began working.

* * *

Though I had so much school work to get through, and I was feeling stressed about the war, it ended up being a really enjoyable break. Mum and dad seemed to want to spoil us as much as possible and I was sure it was to ease our stress as well as ours. Each day mum had activities set out for us the way she had when we were younger. If it was a year ago, I would have complained about the fact she wanted us to make Christmas decorations but this year I didn't say a word. It was obvious she wanted to make things as carefree as possible, and if that meant giving us activities meant for kids even younger than Ben, I wasn't going to rain on her parade.

Even Brenda who I expected to object right away when we walked into the dining room Christmas Eve, to find construction paper, and many different decorating accessories laid out didn't say a word. She just took a seat and began cutting a small tree out of green construction paper. Ben, Tasha and I decided to make some paper chains while Brianne making origami. The kind of parchment we had made it so that the origami would come to 'life,' if done properly. Soon enough, she had some frogs with ribbons tied around their necks hopping across the table.

I didn't want to admit it, but once we got into it, I started to have fun. I hadn't made Christmas decorations since I was nine-years-old having refused at ten to participate. When we were done, we went out to put the decorations on the tree. Mum used her wand to hand our paper chain around our huge Christmas tree. We always got at least twelve foot trees, but I thought this was even bigger.

We had a tradition every year where we were allowed to open one gift before going to bed, and that's what we did later that evening. We sat in a circle drinking butterbeer and munching on Christmas cookies mum had set out for us. In the background, Christmas music was playing. Ben was singing in a low voice while he played with some joke items from the Weasley's shop.

We weren't doing the big Christmas party that year, or unfortunately, having a New Years Eve party. No one wanted to host it or go anywhere so the house was relatively quiet that year. It was a big difference from last year when we'd all had friends over. Brianne didn't even want to invite her friends over that year. So it was just us Hoofer kids, Nick, and Tasha for New Years. It was so odd to me because for the last sixteen years, we'd always had a party.

Brenda was way too quiet for my liking. I hated when she was a brat, but I didn't want her to be sad either. Toward the end of the holidays, I found her sitting on her own by the kitchen patio doors. She was staring outside, watching the snowflakes falling slowly onto the deck. She wasn't even doing her school work which was sitting in front of her. Her quill laid on a piece of parchment which she hadn't even written anything on.

"What's going on with you?" I asked her as I joined her. "You've been so quiet since we got home."

Brenda just shrugged as she continued to look out the window.

"Brianne told me about that bloke you like," I said to her. "Do you want your big brother take care of it?" I added with a wink.

She turned away from the window to look at me. She shook her head and then sighed.

"He doesn't even know I like him," Brenda said giving me a weak smile. "So it's not really fair for me to get angry with him, or to send you after him."

"So why haven't you said anything?" I asked her. "Girls can ask out boys too you know."

Brenda stared at me with wide eyes and then she broke out into a real grin.

"Am I hearing you right? Are you actually okay with me talking to a boy I like?" She asked.

"Nick and I had a little talk about that," I said. "I've been very unfair to you, and I know Brianne is ready to date soon. I don't want you two to be afraid to come to me about blokes. I'm going to do my best not to get angry when you do get in a relationship. I was out of line last year with you and Darren. I just get really protective sometimes."

"You weren't that bad," she said. "I was worse with you and Glenda. But I can't imagine telling some boy I like them. It's not just because I'm a girl, but because the idea scares me to do that. If they say no-"

"But at least you'd know," I interrupted. "You wouldn't be sitting here moping during the holidays. I mean, rejection can be awful but you'd get over him quickly and you might meet someone else. Right now I bet you're wondering if you still have a chance or you're hoping you still do."

"You've never been rejected," Brenda said. "And most of the people in my year hate me. Besides, he was _snogging_ her!"

"Or else he was some impulsive idiot, and he felt the need to snog a pretty girl under the mistletoe," I said. "That happens sometimes, but a kiss can just be a kiss."

Brenda raised her eyebrows at me.

"If you're talking about you and Tasha, you and I both know that isn't true. I saw you with her, and I know that wasn't you just kissing a pretty girl under the mistletoe. I know you fancy her. You're really one to talk. You're telling me to go for Rufus and yet you won't even go for Tasha."

"Because she's my best friend," I said. "It's different when it's your best friend. I went for Glenda back in third year though, and she was a fifth year!"

"Which makes it easier because if she said no, you didn't have to see her in classes or the common room all the time," Brenda pointed out. "Barry, most of your classmates like you. I know a lot of it's my fault that mine dislike me, but you won't have to worry about being bullied. It's not just the rejection I'm worried about. I'm worried he'll tell his friends, and they'll bother me about it. They haven't forgiven me for being a junior member of the Inquisitorial Squad last year. Not that I can blame them because that's the dumbest thing I've done. It's just that sometimes they do look for opportunities to make fun of me."

"Why haven't you told me this?" I asked. "I'm a prefect."

"Because then I'm just that bratty girl who runs to her big brother for help," Brenda explained. "I made my bed, and now I have to lie in it."

"They shouldn't be bullying you," I said. "And why do you fancy this Rufus bloke then if he bullies you?"

"He doesn't. It's one of the reasons I do like him. He is always sticking up for me when they get on my case. He's also one of the smartest in the year. He has the same attitude about school work that I do, and I think next year he'll probably be the boy prefect and there is a good chance I'll be the girl one."

"Then if he sticks up for you, he isn't going to make fun of you," I responded. "The worst he'd do is say no, and he likely won't tell his mates knowing they'll make fun of you. Take your chance, but if you're not going to then, you should move on. I hate seeing you like this though."

Brenda shrugged before looking back out the patio door.

"I'll think about it," she said. "Can you leave me alone now, please. I'd like to be alone, Barry."

"Alright," I said standing up. "But remember you can come to me if you need to."

* * *

Hogwarts ended up arranging a one-off connection in the floo network, for all the students to return if their parents didn't wish for them to go back on the train. Mum and dad decided this was best for us instead of hauling all of us back to Kings Cross. I felt scared that people were actually worried that the train might be attacked though. I knew mum and dad were worried for Tasha the most because she was muggle-born. They wouldn't hesitate to kill her whereas with us, they'd let us live. We weren't planning on going back home for Easter. Tasha had told us she was going to stay, and I decided, in the end, I'd stay with her as well. OWLs would take place shortly afterward anyway, and it would be best for us since we'd be able to do magic at school.

Though our workload was still the same, I noticed that Hermione was right. It did feel like it was easier, and I had no idea why that was. I still had the same amount of responsibilities as before. Perhaps it was just from having a break between all of it. And to my surprise, all of my Winter break homework came back with all E's (and an O in Potions) including Defense Against the Dark Arts. This gave me encouragement and confidence that I hadn't had in most of my classes since the first week of school.

Nick and Tasha seemed to be feeling the same way. All three of us were a lot happier going into the new term than we'd been before the holidays. We even started to take breaks during the evenings instead of staying up late every night. I think a lot of the fifth years felt the same way as I noticed the other boys were goofing off a lot more than usual. I felt so relaxed that I even eagerly waited for another invitation to the Slug Club dinners.

Hermione and I patrolled together shortly after we came back. She was quiet as we walked up and down the seventh floor together. I wondered if she was still upset about Ron, and how it had gone with the bloke, she'd taken to Slughorns party. I didn't say anything at first though. We just checked the passages we knew of while we walked up and down the corridors.

"So did you have a good holiday?" I finally asked as we began making our way down to the sixth floor.

"It was great," she said. "I don't really see my parents all that often. We had a pleasant holiday together. How was yours?"

"Mum and dad seemed determined to keep our minds off of things," I said. "Mum had all these Christmas activities for us to do every day. Most of them were for little kids, but I think mum was trying to make us feel like kids again or something. Tasha is basically living at my house now."

"Why is that?" Hermione asked looking confused.

Tasha was open about her home situation, so I knew she wouldn't mind me telling Hermione about it. So I told her everything. I did wonder if anyone had gone to visit her parents then. If they'd gone for Tasha's family then they might have gone for Hermione's. After all, she was best friends with Harry Potter. I didn't ask her this though. I figured she'd bring it up on her own, but I did hope her parents were well protected.

"That's awful," Hermione finally said. "How is Tasha?"

"Unfortunately, she is used to their behaviour. She was upset, but she told me a few days ago that she isn't shocked. All she wants is for them to be safe," I told her.

"I'm glad she has a safe place to go to," Hermione said and then changed the subject quickly to my OWLs.

I found this rather curious, and I wondered why but I decided not to press the issue.

"You were right," I told her. "The workload is still the same, but I don't feel as stressed out as I did before the holidays. I've noticed the same with the others. Everyone seems less tense, even with everything that is going on in the world. We're even taking breaks during the week."

"Enjoy it, because, after the Easter holidays, it gets stressful again," Hermione told me.

"Thank you bubble burster," I laughed. "And here I thought you were trying to reassure us."

"I won't lie either," Hermione told me with a smile. "There were many people in our year who started to have breakdowns after Easter. They start piling it on more because it's all just revision. So like I said, enjoy it while you can. At least you don't have Umbridge. You lot are luckier than we were because all of your teachers are useful."

"You'll be happy to know I'm dropping Divination after this year," I said. "It doesn't matter if for some reason I get an O in it. I don't want to take it anymore. I don't understand anything Firenze is telling us anyway. He just tells that it's rare for humans to predict the future. At times I think he believes it's useless for all of us to be taking the lessons. The only one he really gets on with closely is Luna but it could be because the other girls flirt with him," and I made a face at that. "Though I don't get why. He is part horse. I find it a bit disturbing."

"Parvati and Lavender are like that too," Hermione said with a smirk.

As soon as she mentioned Lavender, I thought about Ron. So I decided to ask her how things were going with them. She didn't seem as sad as she'd been before Christmas. I just hoped she wouldn't get angry with me for asking.

"Won-Won and Lavender are still going strong," she told me.

"Won-Won?" I asked.

"Lavender's nickname for him," she responded. "It's absolutely ridiculous. I just stay away from them both. I was relieved to have duty tonight with you rather than with Ron. I would take Pansy Parkinson over Ron at the moment."

"Seriously?" I asked. "She's an absolute nightmare. I've only patrolled with her once. She kept going on how the Malfoys are a better family than the Hoofer's. She spent the rest of the time either talking about Malfoy or insulting people, including you. I ended up ditching her toward the end. Told her I needed the loo but I just left her to do the rest of patrol on her own. I know you're angry with Ron, but you can't honestly be serious right now."

"Well, no," Hermione admitted. "But I do like the fact they change up patrol duty. It's made it easier these past few months."

"Then what about what his name?" I asked her. "I can't remember his name now, but Nick said you took some git to Slughorn's party."

"McLaggen, and I regret that because he makes Grawp look like a gentleman, but I knew it would annoy Ron. He nearly made the Quidditch team. It was either that or Zacharias Smith."

"Hermione, I could have hooked you up with one of the boys from my dorm," I told her. "You wouldn't have had to go through any of that. If I'd known, I would have suggested Philip. He would have annoyed Ron without being an idiot toward you."

"But Ron doesn't know him," Hermione pointed out. "It had to be someone who would annoy him the most, and Ron hates both McLaggen and Smith."

"I'll take your word for it, but next time tell me if you need someone else," I said. "We can probably help you out."

Hermione just smiled at me.

"You're sweet Barry, but I won't be doing anything like that anymore," she told me. "What about Tasha then? I thought I saw you snogging her under the mistletoe."

"It was just a kiss between friends," I said quickly. "I saw the mistletoe, and so I kissed her."

"Right, a kiss between friends," Hermione said. "You're just as daft as Ron and Harry can be. I'm starting to think all boys are."

"Why thank you buttercup," I said with a wink at her.

Hermione shut shook her head and then moved a tapestry aside where a hidden staircase was concealed.

"I was right, boys are idiots," she said as she moved forward to walk down them.

"You hang out with two," I called after her laughing.

* * *

To my dismay, it seemed that Slughorn had given up on his dinner parties. Now that I was feeling more relaxed, I'd been looking forward to going to one. I did hang back in classes a few times to ask him he planned to have more soon, and while he didn't say no, he didn't say yes either. His answers were usually vague, and instead, he would just ask me if I wanted to tutor more students which I flat out said no to.

"Maybe next year," I said after one of these times. "But I think it's best if I just focus on my OWLs this year. Next year my workload will probably be smaller, so maybe I'll help out with people in fifth year."

What I found really odd was that he didn't even ask Hermione to tutor students and she was one of the brightest witches at Hogwarts. I managed to get good marks, but I knew she surpassed me by a lot. If we'd been in the same year, I wouldn't even be anywhere near her when it came to school marks. I was actually relieved we weren't in the same year. I knew I would feel like I needed to compete with her all the time, and I would never be able to do so.

We did decide to take the seventh years up on their offer to study with them. We began meeting up with them in the libraries sometimes during the weekdays. They showed us what we'd eventually be learning in sixth year, but they also told us what we'd likely find on our OWLs and what we likely wouldn't be. It helped working with Anita and Lance who were two overachievers in their year. It made me wonder again why Patrick was chosen to be Head Boy and not Lance. Though at times, I still had a hard time being around Lance since I still found it really low what he did to Anita.

One evening, he asked me to look for a book with him while the others looked up some incantations for Transfiguration.

"I feel like you still dislike me," Lance said the moment we were in a row of books dedicated to Transfiguration. "I've been very helpful, and yet you seem to resent me. You've admitted to me that you fancy Tasha now, so this can't be about Glenda."

I hesitated a moment before I finally told him the truth.

"I did not take advantage of Anita," Lance said. "She was the one who pursued me, and she was the one who told me that it was no strings attached. We shouldn't have been together because we were too young for that kind of relationship, but we were both consenting to it. I was fifteen, nearly sixteen and I had a beautiful girl who wanted a no strings attached relationship. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same."

"But you knew she fancied you," I said not denying it because I knew I would do the same. I'd discussed it with my cousin after all. "It's the same that happened with Romilda and I except we're not friends."

"No, I did not do what Romilda did to you," Lance said looking annoyed. "I never took advantage of her. We both talked about it for a long time before we did anything. Romilda used you; I did not use Anita and the fact that she told you that-"

"Maybe I just interpreted it that way," I said quickly. "Don't get angry with her."

Lance looked as if he were clenching his teeth and then he let out a sigh.

"I won't say anything to her," he finally said. "But please stop treating me as I'm the enemy. I haven't done anything to _you_. We all get along and I would like to help all three of you on your OWLs. Glenda is happy that you're talking again as well. Anita and John are as well, so it'd be nice if things weren't awkward. I don't know what Anita told you, but I never took advantage of her. I even told her that if things got too much for her than we would stop."

"Fine," I said. "I guess I didn't have the full picture, but I don't like the idea of someone taking advantage of a girl."

"Kind of ironic since you technically did the same to Romilda, but fine," Lance was smiling though. "So let's just find that book, because I do need to find it, and we'll go back. No more hard feelings, right?"

Lance did have a point, though I didn't go as far as he had. The problem was if Romilda had wanted to take things further, I knew I would have. I was sixteen now, I was the age that my cousins had asked me to wait to before I tried shagging. If she'd wanted to go that far, I knew I wouldn't have used common sense. I didn't like to admit it to anyone, not even myself, but I was jealous of Darren. He might have been too young, but he'd been the first. He knew what it was like to be that way with a girl, and it was something we all wanted.

Things at Hogwarts seemed relatively quiet as the second term continued. The Daily Prophet was still reporting deaths almost daily, but it was getting to the point where people were used to it now. I found that to be depressing and scary. Philip had lost a cousin recently, and he'd closed himself up in the dorm for two days before Flitwick went up to make him come back to classes. He was quiet most days now. He just studied and barely touched dinner. A lot of people were losing weight from stress that year, but I thought he'd lost the most, and that had happened before he found out about his cousin. Now it seemed it was coming off quicker.

So one day after Charms class, I hung back to talk to Flitwick about my concerns. I was the Ravenclaw prefect after all, and I couldn't stand to see him that way. I'd never lost anyone close, so I didn't understand, but I also didn't want to see my friend fail or get sick. Flitwick promised he'd look into it, and he thanked me for coming to him about it.

Philip did slowly start to come back to us after that, but he still looked too thin, and he didn't joke with us as much. He did thank me for going to Flitwick for him. After that, all of us, even Gretchen began looking out for each other. No one wanted to see anyone have a breakdown or fail. I just hoped we'd continue to be united as time went on.


	41. Fifth Year Part Six

Things continued to remain quiet as the second term went on. Slughorn still wasn't having his parties, and I wondered why that was. He'd been so enthusiastic about them. My marks continued to go up thankfully as we went into February. The three of us kept watching for notices to go up about a trip to Hogsmeade, but we didn't see any go up and it wasn't brought up during our prefect meetings

One afternoon toward the end of February, I ran into Romilda who was strolling through the corridors on her own. I felt embarrassed whenever I saw her now. I tried to ignore her as I walked past, but she saw me and walked over to me. I turned to go in the other direction, but she rushed up and took my hand.

"Trying to avoid me, Barry?" She asked as I tried to pull my hand away. "You can't still be angry with me."

"No, but I'd rather you didn't talk to me either," I said as I successfully pulled my hand away from her.

"We had some good times," she said. "And I don't see why we can't still be snog mates."

"Until Harry finally gives you the time of day, right?" I asked her. "You might want to get back to your common room soon, Romilda. It's almost curfew. I just hoped you've heeded my warnings about love potions."

"You're just... pathetic," Romilda snarled as she glared up at me.

"At least I don't try to drug people with love potions," I responded, and then I checked my watch. "Ten minutes to curfew, Romilda. You'd better get going."

"You can't prove anything," Romilda said. "I don't have any love potions. It's too bad you're a loser; it's wasted on such a handsome person."

I rolled my eyes and continued to walk off. Why had I even fancied her? She called something else out to me, but I kept going onto Ravenclaw tower. As I turned a corner, I found Brenda leaning against a wall with her arms folded. She was staring at me, and I wondered if she'd seen and heard all of it.

"Curfew," I said as I continued walking to the tower. "I don't want to give my own sister detention."

"Barry, the rumours aren't true are they?" Brenda asked as she rushed to join me.

"What rumours are those?"

"That you were somehow involved with Romilda Vane! Francine, a girl in my year, said the two of you shagged!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her. Were rumours like those actually going around? And why hadn't I heard of them? Why hadn't any of my friends?

"We did not," I said.

"You wouldn't tell me if you did," Brenda said folding her arms.

"Brenda, as much as I don't want to discuss this with you, I have not shagged anyone," I said. "Who told this Francine girl this? Why haven't I heard about any of this?"

"Romilda," Brenda answered as she began to walk again. "Let's walk and talk, so you don't have to put me in detention. You can do that, right?"

"Yes," I said as I began moving forward as well. "Why would Romilda make that up? I didn't think girls made that kind of thing up."

I'd only heard of blokes making stories like that up about girls.

"Probably for bragging rights," Brenda said as we got closer to Ravenclaw tower. "Girls still really like you, and even if you aren't Harry Potter, she still felt the need to tell people that she got with you. She and Francine- well, they don't like each other, and Francine fancies you. So you promise you're not lying?"

We began climbing up the stairs.

"I promise I'm not lying. Look, I tutored her for a bit as a favour to Slughorn, and we snogged quite a bit, but that's it. I came to my senses because Tasha and I got into a fight, and I was slacking on my prefect duties. I was an idiot for nearly a month there, but Nick talked to me. We did not do anything beyond snogging though."

Brenda nodded.

"I'm glad to hear because you're sixteen. You don't need to be doing that yet. Just because our cousins are idiots, it doesn't mean you need to be," she said. "Maybe if you got into a relationship, but not randomly and everyone knows Romilda hasn't given up on Harry. And she has had love potions from the Weasley's shop you know."

We were outside the common room now. I thought over what Brenda said.

"If you can, try to confiscate it from her," I said. "It's against the rules. I want you to come to me right away."

"How Barry?" She asked. "I'm in Ravenclaw, and she's in Gryffindor. I can't sneak into her common room, and I can't just go through her things either. I can spy for you, but that's it."

"If you see her with one though," I said.

"Then I'll try," Brenda told me. "But she distrusts me as well. I'm only telling you what I know, but as I told you at Christmas, people in my year don't trust me. Romilda is one of them. Actually, we've hated each other since first year. If I'd known about you and Romilda, I could have warned you."

I shrugged.

"I was a prat Brenda; I wouldn't have listened. To be honest, I'm actually surprised you're not lecturing me. I just told you that I slacked off on prefect duties and you haven't lectured me or anything," I said.

Brenda reached forward to knock on the door.

"You've learned your lesson, and look what I did last year?"

She answered the question that was given, and the door swung forward, and we entered.

"You need to stop beating yourself up over that," I told her once we were in the common room. "You've admitted you made a mistake. We all know you're sorry and we've all forgiven you. It's time your year mates move on as well. Romilda can't judge you considering she wants to drug someone with love potion. In my opinion, that is ten times worse. She wants to make someone who doesn't want anything to do with her, love her."

Brenda nodded and as I turned to head over to where Nick and Tasha were sitting when Brenda called out to me. I turned back to her.

"I took your advice about Rufus," she said moving closer to me. She was speaking in a lower voice now. "He said maybe the next Hogsmeade weekend we can do something! He actually said yes! He has no interest in Mallory. She just wanted to snog him, and so they snogged."

"There you go," I said feeling genuinely happy for her. "I'm glad it worked out for you. Just do me a favour and don't snog in front of me. I'm going to do my best not to get overprotective, but I just don't want to see that."

Brenda grinned at me. "Don't worry, I'm not going to be like Ron Weasley, and Lavender Brown apparently are in the Gryffindor tower."

And turning, she headed over to where Kendra was sitting. I smiled after her before heading over to Tasha and Nick.

Unfortunately, the next Hogsmeade visit was canceled. There was an uproar in the common room over this as everyone had been looking forward to it. There hadn't been once since the first back when Katie Bell had been cursed. It was us prefects who people began yelling at over it. We had to call for silence in the common room while Lydia, the seventh year girl prefect explained to everyone that we had nothing to do with the changes.

"Go take it up with the teachers," she ended. "But don't attack us. We're just delivering the message. The next person who yells at a prefect will find themselves in detention! And I will take house points from Ravenclaw if I have to!"

Grumbling, the Ravenclaws backed off, but I still felt like they were trying to blame us for it. I was disappointed as well. I'd made sure to get far ahead on my homework just so that I could get out of the castle for a day. While the rest of the Ravenclaws talked about maybe having a party that Saturday night, the three of us sat back talking about why it'd been canceled.

"Things must be even more serious," Tasha said.

"Or maybe they're worried about another Katie Bell happening," Nick said. "No one knows what happened do they?"

"If they do, they aren't telling us," I said. "I still think a kid slipped it to her though. She wouldn't take it from an adult."

"But how would a kid get it to her?" Tasha asked. "All our things are searched."

"Unless someone gave it to them in Hogsmeade," Nick said. "It's the only thing that makes sense. They must be scared of another repeat. But the good news is as long as the teachers don't pile the homework on us over the weekend, we can finally relax."

"And it sounds like the sixth and seventh years are planning a party," I said.

Unfortunately, the weekend wasn't as restful as we hoped it would be. We were given more homework (though none of us were surprised) but we decided to do most of it Friday night so that we could relax most of Saturday and Sunday. I didn't have to patrol until Sunday evening, so I planned to make the most of the weekend. We stayed up late Friday so that we could sleep in on Saturday.

When I woke Saturday morning, I noticed that I'd slept until nearly ten. It had been a long time since I'd done that. Usually, Nick slept late on weekends, but Tasha and I were up early most of the time. I sat up feeling content for the first time in a long time. I figured I could spend the day with my sisters. It had been a while since all of us got together. I wasn't doing as good of a job as my cousins used to do. They used to seek me out, even in their fifth year, but I really hadn't, and I'd promised I'd look out for them not only to my parents but to Chester and Ralph too.

I glanced over at Nick's bed to see that he was still sleeping. He likely wouldn't be up for another hour. The other boys were gone. I rifled through my trunk to pull out some casual clothes. I went into the dorms to wash up quickly and change. When I came out, it was to find Tasha sitting on the edge of Nick's bed talking to him. Both looked worried.

"What's happened?" I asked as I hurried over to join them.

"Ron Weasley was poisoned this morning," Tasha said. "Luna just told me. She heard it from Ginny, so obviously it's true!"

"Poisoned?" I asked. "But how? Who poisoned him?"

"Luna told me it happened in Slughorn's office, but she doesn't know all the details. Ginny was on her way to the Hospital Wing. She just knows he was poisoned somehow while he and Harry were with Slughorn. Luna said Ginny was in a rush, and she didn't know the details either. She was going off to find out," Tasha explained.

"But how did he get poisoned? Did he drink the wrong potion by accident?" I asked.

"Likely won't know the details for a while," Nick told me. "But you don't think Slughorn did it, do you?"

"No way," I said. "Why would he want to poison a student?"

"That's what we were talking about before you came back," Tasha said. "What if Slughorn is actually evil though? And maybe it was him who gave Katie that necklace."

I shook my head not wanting to believe it.

"I think we should wait until we know more about it," I finally said. "Slughorn doesn't seem the type. I know it can be the last person you'd expect, but for all we know, it was just an accident. I just don't understand why they were in there on a Saturday morning."

It took a while for the details to come out, but most people were scared knowing that another student had nearly died. No one knew what state Katie Bell was in, and now Ron Weasley was in the Hospital Wing. We sought out Luna as soon as we could, but she didn't know much. She looked distraught, but I knew she'd been getting close to the Gryffindor trio.

"Gosh I hope he'll be okay," Tasha said. "And Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place!"

"Well, I do have some other News," Luna said.

"What?" All three of us asked at the same time.

"No one else was hurt or killed?" Tasha asked alarmed.

"Oh no," Luna said looking dreamy again. "I just thought you three would like to know; I'm the commentator for the next Quidditch match. I auditioned recently, and I was given the job."

"That's great Luna," Tasha said.

I honestly didn't care that much about Quidditch, but I could see happy she looked, and we needed some good news, so I congratulated her as well. I believed she'd make an exciting commentator though. I could see her talking to everyone about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, or some other non-existent creature. Perhaps I'd even go with them for the next match.

"That's brilliant!" Nick said excitedly. "We'll be there for sure."

"That's nice of you," Luna said before walking off.

In the meantime, we stayed alert trying to find out what had happened to Ron. There were many rumours about what had happened, but I wanted to hear from the actual source. I knew all about how things could get twisted at Hogwarts. Finally, I was able to talk to Ginny about what had happened to him. I asked her if Slughorn had done it, and why they were in there in the first place.

"We don't think it was intentional," Ginny told me. "Someone gave poison in a wine bottle to Slughorn to give to Dumbledore, but he kept it for himself. He gave Harry and Ron a drink of it, and Ron drank it first. If Harry hadn't been there..." and she shuddered.

"I'm glad he's okay," I said. "Why were they drinking at that time of morning though? It had to have been really early."

Ginny hesitated, and I wondered if they'd been doing something they shouldn't have been.

"It seems Ron swallowed a love potion by mistake," she finally said. "Harry took Ron to Slughorn's office instead of Madam Pomfrey because he didn't want the patron to ask questions. He knew Slughorn wouldn't since he is one of Sluggy's favourites."

I stared at her in alarm when she mentioned the love potion. It had better not have been from who I thought it was.

"Where did he get the love potion from?" I demanded. "Harry did tell the teachers who it was from, didn't he?"

"I don't know if he did," Ginny responded. "But it was from Romilda Vane. It was in some cauldron cakes that were meant for Harry. Ron thought they were a birthday gift because they were on the floor."

"I warned her!" I growled. "I told her that she'd better not drug anyone with love potion. I've heard rumours about it, and I've confronted her, but she told me I couldn't prove it. They need to know the truth. She shouldn't get away with this! Ron should never have been in Slughorn's office in the first place!"

"I can mention it to Hermione," Ginny told me. "She might have told the teachers, or maybe even Harry did. I know he told the teachers what happened in Slughorn's office, but I don't know if he mentioned the love potion. I didn't ask."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Ask Hermione to talk to me when she has the chance please," I said. "I know you lot have a lot going on with Ron, so only when she has the chance. Something has to be done because I told her to get rid of it if she had it. That stuff shouldn't be sold to Hogwarts students. No offense to your brothers because I respect them, but they need to stop selling that stuff."

"Hermione has had some words with them about that," Ginny said with a weak grin. "I'll talk to Hermione for you, but maybe the teachers do know about it. I think Fred and George realize it's a bad idea now."

"Well, that's something," I said smiling back at her. "I'll talk to you later, Ginny. I need to get going. I really do hope Ron gets better soon."

As I walked off, I couldn't help but think about how pretty she'd gotten. She was in a relationship with some sixth year though. I should have taken my chance years ago, but that was in the past. I'd also promised Nick and myself that I wouldn't go for anyone while I still fancied Tasha anyway. I was trying to put all my energy into school work, but now that I could keep up, it wasn't working the way it originally had. It didn't help that she lived with us now, and we shared a room. I was starting to realize just how right mum and dad were about girls and boys sharing a room. It was awkward.

I ran into Romilda a few days before the Quidditch game. I was supposed to be patrolling with Harper, but the two of us decided it was best if we didn't do that, so we separated. I was taking care of the upper floors while he took care of the lower levels. I was relieved we'd come to an understanding that we needed to stay away from each other. I found her lurking not too far from the Hospital Wing, and I found that too much of a coincidence.

I walked over to her angrily. She was looking in the opposite direction, so she didn't see me coming.

"I warned you," I said as soon as I approached her. "I told you to get rid of the love potion!"

"No, you told me I'd better not have any," she retorted as she looked at me. "Look, I have enough going on without you getting on my case! I'm in detention every day after class for a month, and I've lost so many privileges!"

"It should be a lot more! Ron Weasley almost died because of you!" I snarled.

"That is not my fault Barry Hoofer! Don't you dare even suggest-"

"He wouldn't have even been in Slughorn's office if you hadn't done that!" I retorted.

"It's still not my fault, and if Ron hadn't been poisoned, it would have been someone else," Romilda said. "And I feel bad enough without some pathetic lovesick boy getting on my case! You probably wish I'd done it to you."

I glared right into her eyes which made her step back nervously.

"Romilda, I am thrilled that nothing happened between us," I said cooly, "I certainly dodged a spell when it came to you. You are nothing but some mad girl who has to drug boys to like her. You'll never find anyone who truly likes you because, after a while, they'll all know you're insane! I imagine your punishment may be worse once I tell the teachers that you had a warning."

And turning, I walked off intending on talking to a teacher about it. I should have done it a while back. I headed down Flitwick's office figuring he was my best bet. I just hoped he was there. Thankfully, when I peeked into his office, it was to find him sitting at his desk. He was so small that he had to sit on a booster seat at his desk.

"Professor Flitwick?" I said as I stepped into his office.

"Ah come in, come in, Mr. Hoofer," he squeaked happily when he saw me. "I must say, I am very pleased with your work lately. You've always been one of my best students, but your marks have really gone up lately."

I went over to his desk to sit down in the chair in front of it. I wondered if he'd be pleased to know that I'd warned Romilda about the love potion, but I'd never reported it. Would I lose my badge for keeping something so important from a teacher? As soon as I sat down, I began telling him everything. I even told him about how I'd slacked off because I'd fancied her, though I did leave out the snogging part. Once I was done, I held my breath as I waited for him to tell me to hand in my badge right away.

"We've heard the rumours as well," Professor Flitwick told me which surprised me. "We may be just teachers to you students, but we do see and hear things. We know that more than one girl spoke of drugging Potter with a love potion."

"So then why didn't you investigate it?" I couldn't help but ask.

"We were in the same dilemma that you and your friends were in," Professor Flitwick said. "We can't randomly search students with no proof."

"You did at the beginning of the year," I pointed out.

"Yes, and we didn't find anything. We can't search students based on rumours Mr. Hoofer. You still have rights," he answered. "When you first arrived here, we weren't singling out one student by searching your trunks. We checked each and every student who came in through those doors. You warned Miss Vane, and that was the most you could do. Perhaps you should have told me you warned her, but that isn't my biggest concern. We will be talking to Romilda about that. Ron Weasley was poisoned after you warned her."

He hadn't mentioned my error of judgment yet. I sighed and sat back wondering if he would.

"I am concerned that you slacked off on your duties."

There is it, I thought to myself. I clenched my fists waiting for him to ask me for my badge back.

"And I hope I don't hear about anything like that happening again. We chose you because we knew you'd be responsible and that you'd work well with Miss Fadden. I've been pleased with your work so far, however, so try to remember that your responsibilities come before girls. I remember what it was like to be fifteen, but there are more important things out there to worry about Mr. Hoofer."

"So you're- you're not angry?" I asked.

"I'm not pleased," he said. "But you've always been a responsible young man, and everyone slips up at times, Mr. Hoofer. You also showed great maturity by coming to me today about it. So I am going to forget you told me about that. I do hope I don't hear about it again."

"You won't," I said quickly.

"But while I have you here, I wanted to let you know that you will be having your career consultation after the Easter holidays. All the fifth years will be. Have you given any thoughts to where you'd like to work?" He asked, and I was relieved about the subject change.

"Not yet, but I remember Chester and Ralph going through those career pamphlets when they were in fifth year. I figured I'd have a better idea then. I think I want to work in the Ministry though. I'm good at Potions, but I don't want to spend all my time in a lab, and I don't want to be a Healer," I told him.

"Well, I believe you can work in almost any Ministry department," Flitwick told me. "You're doing really well in all of your classes, so you have many options. Take a look at the pamphlets and let me know."

"I will," I told him. "But it probably won't be until we've received our results that I will know for sure. If I fail something-"

"If you really need the class, you can retake it," Professor Flitwick responded. "And we'd work with you to make sure you are ready to take your NEWTs. We would like everyone to succeed, and so we work with you."

I nodded and then asked a few more questions before I left the office. I was just glad I still had my badge, but I supposed some people had done worse. I just hoped my honesty wouldn't take me out of the running to be Head Boy someday.

All three of us decided to go to the Quidditch game to support Luna. It had been a while since I'd been to one, and I was caught up enough that I felt I could spare a few hours to watch the game. It was Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff, so I wasn't really too concerned about the outcome. I was guessing it would be a Gryffindor win, however. They had both Ginny and Harry on the team.

"That McLaggen bloke is filling in for Ron I heard," Nick told me as we made our down to the pitch. "You can finally see who he is."

"I've seen him around, Brenda pointed him out to me," I responded. "I can see why Hermione chose him to annoy Ron. Brenda thinks Harry purposely didn't choose him to be on the team."

"Why does she think that?" Tasha asked as we began to climb into the stands. "He has to pick fairly, and there were a lot of people there watching the try-outs."

"Brenda was there," I responded as we made our way to an empty spot at the top. "She said something really odd happened. He was doing really well, and then for some reason for the last one, he flew in the other direction. Just seems a bit odd when you think about it. Ron is Harry's best mate, and a lot of Gryffindors apparently know he is arrogant. After all, he is one of Sluggy's favourites."

"So she thinks that Harry cast something on him to make him miss the last goal?" Nick asked. "Do you honestly think Harry of all people would do that?"

"He does take Quidditch seriously," I answered as we took our seats. "I don't know for sure, but Brenda said she isn't the only one who thinks that. She said it was odd that he did really well until the last goal. She thinks Harry had someone else do it so it wouldn't look odd. Perhaps Ginny."

"Or Hermione?" Tasha asked.

"No, Hermione would never do that," I answered. "She doesn't even care for Quidditch. She's a Prefect, and she hates rule-breaking… well, unless she has to save a life. I don't think she'd make an exception for Quidditch."

"Brenda could be very wrong anyway," Nick said. "Maybe McLaggen was trying to show off, and it backfired of him. I honestly can't see Harry, Hermione, or even Ginny doing any of that. Wonder if Luna is nervous about commentating today. I know I would be, and I'm not shy."

"Neither is Luna," Tasha said. "But you're right; I'd be so nervous right now that I probably wouldn't be able to do it. Even after all these years, I still don't know all the terminology for Quidditch."

Luna didn't say anything until the players started to fly. As usual, she spoke in her dreamy voice, and she spoke honestly. She began by introducing Zacharias Smith, and about how he'd apparently been rude about Gryffindor when he'd done the commentation.

"Smith, did it last time?" I asked as Luna complimented Ginny for flying onto the commentator box.

"Yes," Nick said.

"I don't think they can keep anyone since the last one left. What was his name? That bloke who hung out with Fred and George Weasley?" Tasha asked.

"Lee Jordan," Nick and I answered simultaneously.

The Quidditch Match ended up being a really good one and not just because of Luna, and she made it a lot better. She kept us distracted by telling us about cloud shapes, she couldn't remember certain team members names, but the best part was when she mentioned that Zacharias Smith was suffering from 'Loser's Lurgy,' it was definitely worth missing out on an afternoon of studying.

Most of the crowd was laughing, and I would go to every Quidditch Match from then on if she was the commentator. Lee Jordan had been funny as well, but Luna had a certain innocence. It was hard to explain, but she was one of those pure people who I doubted rare had a mean thought about others. If she did, she had a good reason for it.

The game didn't go too well for the Gryffindors much longer because Harry was suddenly hit by a bludger by his own teammate. McLaggen was supposed to be the Keeper, but for whatever reason, he'd taken one of the Beaters bats from a player. Harry flew over to make him give it back, but McLaggen mis-hit a Bludger and hit Harry in the head.

The crowd let out a loud "Oh!" as Harry fell off his broom unconscious.

The game continued once the teachers removed him, but without a Seeker, the Gryffindor's didn't have a chance. It made me wonder why they didn't have a reserve at least, especially given the brutality when it came to the game. The result was that the game continued with the Chaser's doing their best, but I believed with Harry one, the Gryffindor's lost their steam. It finally ended with Hufflepuff winning three hundred and twenty points.

"The Hufflepuff's will love that," Nick said as we started to leave. "Maybe they'll win this year. They haven't won in so many years, but with all the points that racked up in this game, they might actually get in a win for once."

"Better them than Slytherin," I said as I followed. "So did you two want to get started on McGonagall's essay?"

"I want to find Luna," Nick told me. "And maybe see Hagrid."

I hesitated. I wouldn't mind seeing Hagrid either, but the Easter holidays were coming up. I could see him then, and I wanted to get everything done that weekend so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed by mid-week.

"I'd like to but-" I began.

"But you need to be top of the year," Nick said with a sigh. "I'll see you later, but I just need a break. It's going to get worse after the holidays. Are you coming, Tasha?"

Tasha glanced at me and then at Nick.

"I'd like to see Hagrid too," she said. "I'm just going to go with Nick. You should really come too, Barry."

"Easter is coming," I said. "I'll see you two in the Common Room later."

Nick and Tasha glanced at each other, but they just shrugged. Part of me really wanted to be going with them, but I knew I'd regret it later on if I didn't go. So I headed back to the castle though I really wanted to be having tea in Hagrid's cabin. I reminded myself as I went that soon, we'd be done our exams, and we'd finally have freedom.


	42. Fifth Year Part Seven

+A/N: If anyone has read this far, I'm just guessing when the Easter holidays are since they aren't mentioned in the Half-Blood Prince, so I'm just going with the 1997 Calendar which shows that Easter Sunday was March 30th, and. I'm just putting it when the Harry Potter Lexicon has it as. Which is March 24th to April 5th. OWL week is guessed as well, so I put it before Harry and Dumbledore went on their adventure.

* * *

The Easter Holidays soon started, and with that thankfully came some silence in the Common Room. Most people, including my sisters, had home. I knew mum and dad wanted me back too, but Tasha was very stubborn about staying at school, and so I stayed as well. For the first time in five years, however, Nick went home as well. It was odd because usually the three of us stayed together or went home together. His parents wanted him home though.

The people who did stay were the upper years thankfully. The youngest that stayed were in the third year, and usually, by then, they weren't annoying. I didn't have to worry about babysitting the first and second years as they'd all gone home, and I was able to focus all my time on homework. Some of our fellow fifth year Ravenclaws stayed as well, and they would often join us in the library or outside, where it was slowly starting to slowly warm up again.

The odd thing was, Gretchen stayed, but she was rather quiet. Perhaps without Samaira or Katrina around, she didn't feel the need to be a bitch. She studied with us, helped us out, and even reassured Tasha that she'd be fine in Arithmancy. Philip stayed as well, and the two didn't fight at all during the holidays. If they did, we didn't witness it.

I felt lonely without Nick though. He was always there, even last summer I hadn't felt this alone without him. I wondered if he was missing us as well. Mum and dad were still communicating to me with the chalkboards, and by the sounds of it, his family was still visiting without us, so Nick still went to my house even though I was at Hogwarts. I didn't admit it to Tasha, but I wished I was at home too. I didn't want her to feel guilty, mainly since it was my choice to stay.

"I think we should study a subject a day," Tasha told me a few nights into the holidays. "That way we don't have to cram everything into one day."

I didn't respond right away as I was going through a letter Brianne had written to me. By the sounds of it, mum and dad were still trying their hardest to make them feel like little kids, and I wanted to be there as well. They were making Easter crafts just as we'd made Christmas crafts. I couldn't believe that age sixteen; I was wishing that I was at home doing kids things rather than being at Hogwarts. Even last year I wouldn't have wanted it.

"You really miss them, don't you?" Tasha asked me. "You know, they have the floo network open again for people to use to go home. Maybe you could talk to Flitwick, and you could go home. You don't have to stay and keep me company. I know it's the only reason you're staying."

"It's easier to practice spells here," I said. "You're not wrong, but Charms is still my weakness. We can practice them together. I agree that we should do a subject a day, but I also think we should make a list of spells each day from first year to fifth year and practice them. I'm still not doing too well with the Silencing Charm."

"Just Charms or all of the spells we've learned since first year?" Tasha asked.

"All the spells," I said. "Transfiguration, and we'll use my book of hexes and spells to practice in the boy's dormitory. I mean, I don't think anyone will care, but we shouldn't risk it. Charms and Transfiguration are fine down here, but I don't think too many people will like it if we fire off hexes in the Common Room. If only we'd joined the DA last year," I added with a sigh. "I heard that they did really well on their OWLs last year."

"Well without Brenda lurking around, and no one else caring, we can learn some," Tasha told me. "We have the rest of the holidays to try. Hermione did tell me what we'd be tested on during our OWLs during our last patrol. The four seventh years stayed as well, so we can talk to them. Maybe they'll let us practice on them too."

So that's how we spent our holidays. In the mornings, we would revise over the written portions of our classes, while in the evenings, we would write a list of spells to practice. I was glad we decided to do this because there were some first years spells that I hadn't used in years, and I wasn't as confident with them as I had been in first year. I'd never felt the need to change the colour of anything, so I'd forgotten about Colour Charms after our first-year exams.

The seventh years were actually very open to letting us practice some hexes and jinxes on them, and it was because they knew the antidotes or counter-spells (which they helped us learn) because they'd been learning all that in NEWT level. Lance also warned us that next year we'd have to go over all the spells we already knew, but non-verbally.

"Well, I'd wait on that until next year," Anita said. "It's fine to practice on your own, but you don't want to get confused either. Non-verbal is really hard to do."

"Didn't Harry do a non-verbal spell on Ron Weasley?" I asked. "We heard something about it. He made Ron hang upside down?"

"We heard something about that," John said. "But we don't know the incantation. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to find out, but I get the feeling it isn't Ministry approved."

"But wasn't it his first time trying it?" I asked. "That's what Nick said. Seamus Finnigan apparently mentioned it."

"I talk to Seamus sometimes, I can find out," Lance said. "But I wouldn't worry about that spell right now. You need to focus on what's on your OWLs, and so that's what we are going to do. Believe me; you're going to forget the most basic spells because you're under pressure. I've been lighting my wand since we learned how to do it, and yet I forgot how to do it."

"Seriously?" Tasha asked with wide-eyes. "But that's the most basic first year Charm!"

"Yes, but the OWLs do that to you," Glenda said. "You're so stressed you can forget your own name. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. After the Easter Holidays, a lot of the people in your year will likely start having breakdowns too. In fact, so will people in our year."

By the end of the holidays, I believed that it had been very productive — my disappointment about not going home faded. I knew that once classes started, we were going to have even more work piled on us, Hermione and the seventh years had confirmed this, but I felt confident going into the final term. I knew it was the last hurdle to get through.

The pamphlets for careers in the Wizarding World showed up on the last day, and Tasha and I sat together perusing them. The problem was, I liked the sound of so many of the careers. I still thought even the Department of Mysteries would be great to work in, but I would have to keep Divination.

Tasha was reading through a Curse Breaker pamphlet when Nick turned up. He joined us and grabbed one from the top.

"Back to the real world," he said with a sigh as he read through it. It was about becoming a Healer. "That break went by way too quick."

"It did," I agreed. "Do you honestly think you could handle the hours of Healing?"

"Not likely, but I might as well out check out my options," he told me. "Ben looks like he's had a Stretching Charm put on him. Remember he used to worry he wouldn't grow? He is the same height as Brianne now. I think he might be even a little taller. I bet that kid is going to be very tall."

"I was the same way, so no doubt," I said. "Anything else happen? Was anyone attacked or killed or-"

"No one we know," Nick said quickly. "There are attacks every day, but your parents wouldn't let your sisters or Ben out at all. Apparently, your dad spotted a Dementor a few kilometers away, and he's worried it was sent there for someone to find your family. Your mum doesn't think so. She thinks they're just spreading out more, but I don't expect you'll get much use out of your pool this year. You probably won't be doing any yard work either."

"It seems odd it was just one," I said. "I think dad is right. They're probably trying to find us. It won't be long before they try to recruit mum and dad. And they can use the Dementors to scare us into joining."

"Do you know if anyone went back to my place?" Tasha asked looking quite spooked.

"No one has gone back there since the first time," Nick told her. "Our parents think they were just scoping your place out. Who knows, maybe they were checking every place that muggle-borns reside. Dad thinks they're biding their time."

"But they don't have any problem with killing random people," I said.

"It's mainly people they either fear or who have given them problems though," Nick said. "Not that they aren't killing still, but dad doesn't think they want a mass killing yet. For them, to murder, every muggle-born family might bring an uprise, and it's the last thing they want. Barry's parents think that they want to take the Ministry over and do it subtly."

"How?" Tasha asked.

"Dunno," Nick said. "But you know what they say? Just mind your studies and don't worry about it. Most I know is just from listening in. So what happened here? Any big news? Did Harry do anything?"

"No, it's been rather quiet," Tasha said. "I think everyone is just too much into their studies, even Harry. I know sixth year is rather complicated."

"We studied a subject a day and practiced spells every day," I told him. "And the Seventh Years let us practice hexes and jinxes on them. I think I'm finally caught up. I'm not as worried as I was before, even though I know that the teachers are going to be forcing even more revision on us starting tomorrow."

And we weren't wrong. All of the teachers began piling even more on us, even Firenze, and he gave us the less amount of anyone usually. He told us that he had to teach us what was on the OWL curriculum, even if he didn't think we'd ever have any use for it as we were human. I had my career consultation with Flitwick the first week, but I still didn't have much to add onto it. He told me just to go by my strengths, and we would talk again at the beginning of sixth year. He told me what marks I needed to bring up and that he was there to help me when I needed him.

Gretchen was one of the first to have a breakdown. It was midway through the first week, and we were given what felt like a months worth of Transfiguration homework. She began weeping as Professor McGonagall wrote it all on the chalkboard, she got up, kicked her stool over and left sobbing. Professor McGonagall called out to her, but Gretchen paused at the classroom door, turned to look at her and yelled: "I quit!"

She wasn't the last. As the weeks went on, more people had to be given calming draughts. I felt close to a breakdown myself. The confidence I'd felt at the end of Easter had faded within the first two weeks into term. I almost wanted to slack off on my duties again, but I knew better than that. I was up late and up very early again just to get through the new school work we had to learn, but all the revision we had to go through as well. How had my cousins found the time to look out for all of us and do their studies? I knew I wasn't being a very good brother, especially when I snapped at Brianne the one night. Thankfully, she didn't take it seriously.

About a few weeks into the new term, Tasha rushed over to Nick and me, who were studying at the back of the library. For a moment, I felt nervous. Had something terrible happened again? Not too long ago, a family lost their little brother to a werewolf attack. I was so glad that my parents were overly cautious when it came to Ben. I believed our protective enchantments did keep werewolves out, but I wasn't entirely sure of that. However, she was smiling, so I relaxed.

"Guess who is back?" She asked. "I just saw her!"

"Who?" Nick asked.

"Remember the girl who was cursed at the beginning of the school year? Katie Bell? She's back, and she looks okay! I'm so glad she is okay!" Tasha said excitedly.

"Does she know who cursed her then?" I asked. "Or did you hear that?"

"I was part of the crowd of onlookers," Tasha said. "I guess people have been asking her all day. She doesn't remember anything, but I just feel like Katie Bell being back means things are going to get better. Ron has been better for weeks now."

"The only way things are going to get better is if You-Know-Who is gone," Nick told her. "I'm glad Katie Bell is back, but things are still bad. I'm not trying to be a bubble-burster but-"

"I know, but I just have a good feeling, and that he will be gone. There are so many rumours that Hogwarts might close but with Ron and Katie back, it has to be good news! I just think soon; things are going to get a lot better. Things always do change at the end of the school year after all!"

"I suppose you have a point," I finally said. "I hope you're right, but no one even knows where You-Know-Who is right now. But I did see Draco Malfoy recently. He looks sick. Maybe plans aren't going as well as they'd hoped."

"Malfoy has looked sick all year though," Nick said. "I mean, at the beginning of the year he looked fine but ever since around October or so he hasn't looked well. His family isn't exactly a Ministry favourite at the moment either. Lucius Malfoy is in Azkaban right now, isn't he? I don't think Malfoy is the most reliable to observe at the moment. All the Slytherins seem rather happy lately, don't they?"

"Things will get better," Tasha insisted. "I just think with Katie and Ron back that it's the first step in the right direction."

Nick glanced at me before looking back down at his Potions essay.

"You could be right…" he said slowly, but I didn't think he actually believed it.

I didn't either. I was glad that Katie Bell was okay, and Ron had been fine for weeks, but I didn't think things were going to get better. I was worried they were going to get worse, especially given the fact that every day someone was hurt. I was checking the chalkboard almost daily because I was concerned about hearing about Ben, or one of my cousins dying.

"You could be," I added just to take the look of disappointment off of her face. "We should get back to studying though."

Tasha frowned, but she began digging through her bag to pull out some books.

"I would have thought you two would be more optimistic about this," she finally said.

"I'd like to be optimistic, but mum and dad told me a lot about You-Know-Who's first takeover when I went home," Nick said. "Everyone is relying on Harry Potter to get rid of him, but he is sixteen. I know he has escaped him, but everyone thinks Harry is going to kill him. He's sixteen. The only reason he got rid of him years ago was that You-Know-Who's spell backfired of him. I'm not saying Harry isn't powerful or anything, but people are expecting too much from a kid! If Dumbledore hasn't gotten rid of him yet, why do people think that someone who isn't even of age yet can?"

"Unfortunately, I think Nick is right," I told Tasha. "I want to see it as a good sign too, but Katie and Ron are back because they feel better. It's got nothing to do with You-Know-Who except that his Death Eaters have stopped hurting kids, or at least I hope they have. They're both okay, but he is still out there and killing. So are his Death Eaters."

Tasha sighed but nodded. She didn't say anything to that. I felt terrible that we had to put a damper on her mood, but I just didn't think that things would be resolved by the end of the school year. Next year, we'd all be back with You-Know-Who still out there.

* * *

April was a relatively quiet month as time went on. Nothing significant happened inside the castle walls though we kept hearing stories about people being hurt in the Daily Prophet. Students often looked sad or scared because something had happened to one of their family members. Others felt scared that it was only a matter of time before something happened to their own. I felt that way when I was thinking of my OWLs. The only benefit to that was the fact that I didn't think about Tasha as much anymore. I still liked her, but I was distracted so much lately.

Tasha delivered the News to us that Ginny Weasley had broken up with her Sixth Year boyfriend, but I really didn't care anymore. I'd been attracted to her ages ago, but for the first time since I'd noticed girls, they were the last on my mind. It was hard to believe that two years ago, my main concern had been finding a girlfriend. Now I couldn't care less.

With exams approaching, I just wanted them to get there so we could do them. I was so tired of hearing about OWLs every waking moment. Now that we were in May, I began feeling more hopeful though others were feeling the opposite. The other fifth years, even Luna, was starting to stay up late with me at night, and waking up early with me so we could do our school work.

Something did distract us momentarily, however. We didn't get the full story, but apparently, Harry Potter attacked Draco Malfoy in Moaning Myrtles Bathroom. I was sure that Malfoy had to have provoked Harry into doing it, however. All I knew was that he'd used some horrible spell against him that could have killed him. It had sliced him up or something.

I kept hoping for patrol duty with Hermione so I could ask her what the truth was. We hadn't worked together in ages, though I did wonder if she would actually admit it. He was her best friend after all.

I finally found her the day before the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor match on her own. I quickly approached her before she took off. She was writing on a piece of parchment against the stone wall.

"What happened with Malfoy and Harry?" I asked her, and she turned to me. "Why would Harry use a spell like that? There is no way he was trying to hurt him like that!"

"Harry found… that spell written somewhere but he didn't know what it was," Hermione responded. "They dueled in the bathroom, and he used it. He didn't realize- he feels really guilty."

"I figured he would," I said. "But surely Harry would know better than to use a spell he doesn't know? Did he use the same source for that spell he used to hoist Ron up by his ankle?"

"How did you know about that?" Hermione demanded. "How do you always know?"

"Because things get around this school," I said. "I just want the truth and not the lies. Nick said Seamus told him about that other spell."

Hermione sighed. "Well, it was an accident. He had no idea- but thankfully Malfoy will be okay. Harry knows better now."

"Good," I said. "And how are you? I haven't talked to you in ages, and I've seen that you and Ron are talking now."

"I'm fine, but I must get going," Hermione said. "Ron and Lavender broke up not too long ago. Good luck with your exams, Barry."

She put her parchment away and then turned and walked off quickly. I stared after her thinking that she seemed to be acting a bit odd. I decided not to question it too much. I did wonder what Harry was thinking by using unknown spells. That was something they taught us in the first year. My parents had told us that since we were young as well. I knew Harry obviously didn't have his parents, but I thought someone would have taught him by that point.

As I got closer to Ravenclaw tower, I smiled as I thought about what she'd said as she departed. She'd told me Ron and Lavender broke up. It was News I didn't care too much about, just like I hadn't with Ginny and Dean, but to me, I thought she'd been telling me that as a friend. She confided into me about that situation, and she'd now updated it on me. If she didn't see me as a friend, she wouldn't have mentioned it. Grinning, I began climbing up the steps that would take me to my tower. Hermione Granger saw me as a friend!

* * *

And then the exams we'd spent the last year, or really the last five were upon us. One moment, they had seemed weeks away, and the next we were waiting like the rest of the years went off to classes to finally take them. Our first exam was Charms, which was the one I was worried about the most.

The house tables were removed from the Great Hall after breakfast, and several smaller tables were added instead. We had to do a written exam first, which I felt went really well. Charms work was never my problem; it was the spells that I could never get down for some reason. I understood them, I knew their history, I knew the theory behind them, but just casting them had never been easy for me. I never understood why people thought Transfiguration was harder.

Either way, I felt confident at the end of the first exam. I was able to finish before the time was up. Once we were done, we left the Great Hall, where we were given time to revise to the spells themselves before lunch. After lunch was when we would take the practical. Tasha stressed that she'd mixed several of the questions up. We sat out by the lake discussing it while we waited for lunch to start.

"I thought it went really well," Nick said. "All that studying paid off. There was probably only a question or two that I might have struggled with, and those were the History ones. I don't care who invented the Summoning Charm. I'm just glad they did."

"I don't think I described them enough," Tasha said. "Now when I think about it, I feel that I could have added more to how Lumos works. It's just so basic that I didn't bother studying the meaning even if I practiced it."

"I'm sure you're not going to fail over not putting enough description about lumos," I said lazily refusing to get worked up.

I did worry after lunch though. The House tables had been returned long enough for people to eat lunch, but they were removed again after lunch. We all had to wait in the chamber where we'd first stood in sorting night while we were called out four at a time in alphabetical order. It was one of the downsides to having a last name in the H's.

Around me, people weren't even discussing the OWLs; they were too busy asking Ginny Weasley silly questions about Harry Potter. They'd started to date right after the last Quidditch match, which Gryffindor won. Not only did they win the game, but they'd won the cup as well. I hadn't seen the game, but I knew it'd been an excellent one. No one even talked about the game though, all anyone could talk about was the fact that Harry and Ginny had gotten together right after.

I found this all very annoying, so I moved away from the group of students to stand on my own. Even Tasha and Nick were part of the group of gossipers though Tasha was called out soon. The only thing I wondered about was how Ron had reacted to it all. I'd heard he didn't like Ginny dating, and now she was with one of his best friends. I'd be very angry with Nick if he went for Brenda, and I'd kill him if he went for Brianne.

Finally, I was called into the Great Hall with Harper and a couple others. I was glad to see he looked really nervous as we left the chamber. When we entered the Great Hall, it was to find that some people were still being tested. I didn't see Tasha anywhere though. I wondered if she was waiting in the Entrance Hall for us.

I was waiting for about five minutes before an old male examiner called me up. I walked over to him and nervously and sat down in front of him at his table.

"Another Hoofer," he said with a smile. "I've tested many of your cousins, and I imagine one of your parents as well. I'm usually good with faces, and I'm thinking you're Richard Hoofer's oldest boy."

My eyes widened when he said that and I nodded. How could he possibly know? My uncles looked relatively the same, and so many of my cousins had come through. How did he know that I was my dad's kid?

"That's what I thought, I'm Professor Tofty," he said. "I got Chester and Ralph mixed up, but when I saw you, I thought I saw your father all over again. I see him in the Ministry sometimes. He impressed me in Transfiguration and Potions. I always believed he'd do more with those two subjects, but he went down another route. Now, why don't you show me the wand lighting charm?"

I grinned at him and lit my wand quickly and then turned it off when he asked me to. I relaxed instantly after this, and continued to perform the spells he asked me to show him. There were a few I mixed up, and my summoning charm wasn't nearly as great as I'd like it to be, but I didn't think I did poorly. If I had to guess, I thought I probably got at least Exceeds Expectations in Charms.

When I was done, Nick was just entering the Great Hall. I gave him the thumbs up and then hurried out. I found Tasha leaning against the wall by the hourglasses in the Entrance Hall. As soon as she saw me, her eyes lit up, and she rushed over.

"How did you do?" She asked. "I think I did well enough. I hope I got Exceeds Expectations at least."

"I think I did too," I said. "I'm still not good at summoning, at least not under pressure. I had it down pat when we practiced over the holidays. I forgot how to do the Freezing Charm though," I added as I rolled my eyes.

"I forgot how to do the Levitation Charm," Tasha admitted, and for a moment I thought she was kidding.

"You're not… are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes, I could do it now if you ask me, but I forgot, and I said 'swish and flick,' instead of 'Wingardium Leviosa,' and I couldn't remember the incantation until I got out here. It was so embarrassing because I remember Flitwick telling us 'swish and flick' and that's all I could remember!"

"But that was one of the first questions on our exam-"

"I know," Tasha said, and she covered her face with her hands. "I know, and I got it right on the written exam but in front of Professor Marchbanks? I couldn't do it!"

"Well, I'm sure you did fine on the rest," I told her putting a hand on her shoulder. "Remember what Lance said? He forgot how to do Lumos! I'm sure you didn't forget how to do that."

"Well, no," she said removing her hands. "But I still feel so embarrassed. I hope I never get her again. She probably thinks I'm positively daft!"

"I'm sure she has seen worse," I reassured her. "Let's just wait for Nick. We have Transfiguration tomorrow, so we can study for that. Soon these two weeks will be over, and we won't have to worry about them anymore."

Each day was the same as the last. We would have the written exams in the mornings, and then the practicals in the afternoons. Most classes I felt that I did well enough in but the only one I was most confident in was Potions. I had no problems answering any of the written questions, and later in the afternoon, I knew I brewed the perfect potion.

Nick and Tasha weren't as sure, in fact, Tasha was near tears by the end of the written exam though she seemed more confident after brewing the potion. When Divination came up, I wasn't feeling confident at all, and I felt even less so by the end of both exams. I couldn't remember anything I was supposed to for the written one, and I'd seen absolutely nothing in the crystal ball later on. I got all the lines mixed up in Professor Marchbanks hand, and the tarot reading I gave her I made up on the spot. I couldn't remember what the Queen of Wands meant, or why I should care about the Wheel of Fortune being reversed or the outcome with the Tower.

"You're going to meet a powerful woman who is unfortunate enough to end up on the Lightning-Struck Tower," I'd said. By her expression, I knew she could tell I'd made it up on the spot.

"Very well, if you're sure Mr. Hoofer, you can go," she said.

How did Luna know how to read the cards accurately? I wondered as I left the Great Hall. She was currently reading to Professor Tofty with confidence.

Finally, History of Magic was the final exam, and though I didn't think I'd failed it, I didn't think I would get an O either. It was hard to remember names of certain goblins when they had so many odd names. I'd always found the Goblin Wars interesting, but it was hard to remember all their names, so I just made them up though I remembered certain events.

"Can you believe we are done?" Nick asked. "All this build up, and now we don't have to worry about the exams until we get our results."

"I'm going to be thinking about it a lot," Tasha said. "Especially with Arithmancy. If I fail it, I am not re-taking it next year. Flitwick told me I could, but I just can't imagine doing OWL Arithmancy again. I'll take almost any of them but that."

"Any class I fail I'm just not worrying about it," Nick said. "Flitwick told me we'd discuss it next year, but I'm done. I know I just failed History of Magic, and guess what? I don't care! Hoofer probably got all O's."

"Not even close," I said. "Maybe in Potions, but that's it. I know I failed Divination. Professor Marchbanks didn't look impressed with any of my readings."

"Well, maybe she will meet a powerful woman on the lightning struck tower," Nick said.

"Maybe the Astronomy Tower?" I asked.

"Maybe. Maybe it was last night when we did our Astronomy exam," Nick answered.

"That is a good possibility," I said.

"At least you can drop the stupid subject now," Tasha said.

"Yes," I said quickly. "I still say it was interesting to take, but it was useless for me. Maybe I should have taken Care of Magical Creatures after all. Not that I would have kept that either."

"I'm worried about Transfiguration too," Tasha said. "If I fail, I'll have to take it again. I do want to keep that because most careers want it as a prerequisite."

"I saw we don't stress about them until later," Nick said. "No more school work, and no more homework, I am just relaxing until the end of the school year."

* * *

Unfortunately, as much as we wanted to relax until the end of the school year, that wouldn't be the case. While everyone else was getting ready for their exams, us fifth year Ravenclaws had a mini party in the boy's dorm. Luna was there as well, though I thought she was going to say no when we asked her to join us.

Philip and Ivan managed to get drinks from somewhere (how when everything was searched, I didn't know) so all of us had some drinks while having fun. Philip and Kevin were making fun of Luna's commentary, while the rest of the girls sat together on Nick's bed whispering and laughing together. The rest of us started a game of Exploding Snap.

Luna left after a while, and I wondered why that was, but I soon forgot about her. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to go off on her own after all. She was likely tired of how loud we were being. She wasn't one to get into the roughhousing like everyone else. We just continued celebrating together until late into the evening.

We were in the middle of a game when Gretchen suddenly screamed extremely loud. I dropped my cards and looked over at her in alarm. So did the others. She was staring out one of the windows looking terrified.

"What?" Philip asked. "You nearly gave me a heart attack Gretchen! What could possibly-"

"It's the Dark Mark!" She shrieked. "It's there! It looks like it's over at the Astronomy Tower, but I can't tell!"

She was almost hysterical.

"The Dark Mark?" Philip asked as we all started to get up. "Don't say mad things like that?"

"It's there!" Samaira screamed as she joined Gretchen at the window.

The rest of us all scrambled over to the window quickly. They couldn't be serious! Though I thought I saw a greenish glow. How did the Dark Mark end up at Hogwarts? It was hard for all of us to fit at one window, so some of us had to go to another. It was there, just as Samaira and Gretchen had said, and I thought they were right. It was over the Astronomy Tower. From where we stood, it was hard to be one hundred percent. It was a great green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth.

We all moved from the windows quickly and rushed downstairs. Had anyone else noticed it yet? And later on, I would realize that as Prefect, I should have tried to keep everyone calm. However, the only thing I could think of was the fact that the Dark Mark was near the castle, and my sisters were at Hogwarts. What if Death Eaters had gotten inside and killed kids? It seemed almost impossible for them to penetrate the castle's defenses though. Maybe it was just a stupid prank.

Down in the Common Room, no one seemed to have noticed anything odd yet. Most people were still just studying or talking in their groups of friends. Gretchen who was still quite hysterical was crying. Everyone turned to look at us as we entered the room from the dorms.

"It's the Dark Mark!" Gretchen shrieked. "It's out there! Someone died! It's out there!"

Samaira and Katrina were nodding with tears streaming down their cheeks, while the boys began pointing at the windows. Philip rushed straight to a window facing the Dark Mark, to show people who looked skeptical,

"The Dark Mark?" Carol, the seventh year Prefect, said standing up. "Now really, Barry and Tasha, I expect better from you two. This isn't funny at all! You're Prefects and quite frankly-"

"It's there!" Someone screamed. "It's over there! Who died? Where's my brother!"

Many people rushed over to the windows to look, and it was pandemonium. It seemed all of us Prefects forgot to call for order as people began to rush for the Common Room door to leave. Everyone was yelling, and there was a bit of a hold up at the door as everyone tried to exit. I didn't even see Brenda anywhere, but I saw Brianne ahead crying as she rushed out the door. I ran after her. All I wanted to do was make sure Brenda was okay. What if it had been her? We'd had so many stupid disagreements over the years, and I regretted them all.

I didn't catch up to Brianne until we reached the bottom of the stairs. The Ravenclaws were all still rushing around us, but I stopped her.

"Where is Brenda?" I asked her. "I don't see her."

"I'm here," I heard.

I turned quickly to see Brenda and Kendra standing together looking terrified. I moved forward to hug her tightly. She began to weep in my arms. If this was someone's idea of a prank, I hoped they were expelled. Though part of me was hoping it _was_ just a prank though.

"But what happened?" Brenda asked once I pulled away.

"I don't know," I said. "We should go find out though."

Most people seemed to have found out about it in the other houses. When we reached the Entrance Hall, it was to find that people in all four houses were exiting. Grabbing Brianne's hand, I kept her close as we left the castle and walked down the steps. Most people were congregating over to the Astronomy Tower. We were right; it was directly above it.

"What are they all looking at?" Brenda asked. "There is something on the ground there."

"I don't know," I answered. "It's too dark."

I reached into my pocket to pull out my wand. I lit it just as other people were. I found Tasha and Nick standing apart of the crowd. As soon as we reached them, Tasha turned to me tearfully.

"Dumbledore," she said.

"What?" I asked.

"It's Dumbledore," she said.

 _No way!_ I thought to myself. I turned my wand to join the others that were pointed to the bundle on the ground. I took in a deep breath as I stared. It was Dumbledore, and he looked broken. Had he fallen off the Astronomy Tower? I'd never been close to him or really had a conversation with him, but I'd always respected him. No one had to confirm it for me, but he was gone. One of the greatest Wizards in the world was dead and broken at his beloved school.

"No…" Brianne moaned beside me.

She turned and hugged me. I pulled her close as Brenda moved closer to my side. With my free arm, I wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her close. Around us, people were sniffling. I could feel my eyes burning with tears, and I began blinking them back quickly.

Seconds later, Harry Potter appeared and moved through the crowd. I knew he'd been very close to Dumbledore. We all watched as he walked over to our Headmaster and then knelt down beside him. It was then I let the tears run down my cheeks. The boy had lost so much already, and now another one of his mentors was gone. Behind me, I could hear loud sobs, and I thought it was Hagrid.

But how had it happened?

"Everyone, let's back up," we heard someone say.

It was McGonagall.

"Back inside please," she was saying.

Hagrid walked over to Harry and tried to get him to move, but he wouldn't budge. So Ginny finally moved forward and took him by the hand. Harry stood up, and the two walked off. The rest of the teachers began telling us to go on back inside.

"Ravenclaws please!" Flitwick was calling.

I finally snapped back into Prefect mode, just as I should have done earlier. I stepped away from my sisters and looked around.

"Ravenclaw First years please!" I shouted before turning to Tasha. "Get the Second Years please."

She nodded mutely before she began calling for them. The rest of the Prefects followed suit and started calling for the rest of the years. Once I had all the First Years, I had them follow me over to where Professor Flitwick was waiting for us. Once he was sure that we were all there, he stayed in the lead to bring us inside. The First Year girls were weeping while the boys looked shocked.

At the steps, we had to wait for the Hufflepuff's to climb the stairs. Once they were gone, Professor Flitwick began walking again. I stayed close to the First Years hoping that no one would wander off. I was gritting my teeth hard to keep myself from crying. We'd just lost such an essential wizard in our world. What would happen now? And what about Harry? It felt extremely sad for the poor boy who had lost so much already.

No one really talked as we went up to the Common Room. It had been such a fun night, and now it was this. Things were much worse than before now. With Dumbledore gone, You-Know-Who would stop at nothing from taking over.

"Please everyone stay up here," Professor Flitwick told us once we were upstairs and all in the Common Room.

"Professor? You don't look well," a Sixth Year girl said. "What happened to you?"

"I'm fine Miss Brocklehurst. Just a bump on the head," he squeaked. "I just want to make sure all of you are safe and that no one leaves. I look to the Prefects to make sure everyone stays up here. Any letter you need to send can wait until the morning."

"Professor, what happened?" A Fourth Year boy asked. "How did he die? Someone said there were Death Eaters in the castle. I thought I saw one when we were running downstairs. There was some blood on the floor too. Saw a bloody footprint!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have all the details as of yet," Professor Flitwick said. "Once I leave here, I will find out. I was knocked out by a stunner, but it appears that yes, there were Death Eaters in the castle. Which of them killed Albus, I cannot say. I do not know how they got in the castle, but there was a fight by the Astronomy Tower. That's all I know, unfortunately. I am going to go down to the Hospital Wing to find out. Please, just stay here, and listen to the Prefects."

I looked around the Common Room, and I realized I didn't see Luna anywhere. I hadn't seen her since she'd left the dormitory earlier in the evening.

"Wait, Professor," I said quickly as he turned to leave. "I don't see Luna! She's not here!"

"Miss Lovegood is fine. She's down in the Hospital Wing. She was part of the battle, but she was not hurt," Flitwick answered.

"No one else died did they?" A third-year boy called out. "You said there was a battle!"

"There were some injuries, but I don't know who," Flitwick told him. "No one else on our side is dead. Again, I do not have the answers. I will let you all know first thing tomorrow morning. I will find out, but I must also go lie down."

I didn't think anyone dared to leave this time as they would have in previous years. I knew I had my Prefect duties, but I wanted to go upstairs first to write to mum and dad. I figured for a few moments; the other Prefects would be fine without me. No one stopped me as I headed to the door of the dorm, though, Nick, Tasha, and my sisters followed me.

"Are you writing to mum and dad?" Brenda asked as soon as the door was shut behind me.

I nodded. "They ought to know," I said as we went upstairs.

The dorm was still littered from our party, and I wished we could return to happier moments. I walked over to my trunk and got down on my knees. The others joined me while I opened the trunk. The chalkboard was on the top, and I grabbed it and the chalk before writing:

 _'Mum, dad,'_ and then I sighed. "I don't know what else to say."

"Here," Brenda said, and she reached over to take it.

Brianne was still sobbing. Tasha had her arms wrapped around her while she cried. As Brenda wrote, I thought I heard something. I wasn't the only one; the others looked up as the noise filled the room. I'd never heard it before, but I'd heard of it. It was a Phoenix singing and mourning for its late owner. Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix was singing very loud, and the only word that could describe it was: Beautiful.

"Mum and dad say they'll be here tomorrow," Brenda said as she handed me back the chalkboard. "They can't believe it either. Ben is still up, and he's distraught and scared."

I nodded and put the chalkboard back in my trunk. I wasn't surprised that Ben would be upset. He'd never met him, and he never would unfortunately now, but he had many books about Dumbledore and every Chocolate Frog card. Most of the time he would trade if he got duplicates, but not when it came to Dumbledore.

"We should get back downstairs," Tasha said to me as she let Brianne go.

I stood up, and the others joined suit. Fawkes was still singing his mournful cry. We all left the dorms and headed back downstairs. The Common Room was still full; I didn't think anyone had left. Everyone was sitting on the floor, the couches, and chairs, all very quiet while listening to the Phoenix song. I saw the fifth years sitting not too far from one of the mini-libraries, and I headed over to them. My sisters stayed with us.

As I sat down in a spare chair, my mind when to Luna, she'd known when she left that something was happening. She'd been telling Philip all about 'Loser's Lurgy,' when she'd pulled something from her pocket, looked at it and then left without saying a word. I hadn't given it much thought. It must have been one of the old DA coins though. Mine was sitting at the bottom of my trunk where I'd put it last year.

The DA members must have known something was about to happen, and they'd called for people to come. However, not too many people even carried their coins on them, so not many people went. I wanted to say something to Tasha and Nick, but no one knew that we'd been unofficial members, so I decided to wait for the time being. Besides, it seemed everyone was in an unspoken agreement to remain silent in respect for Dumbledore.


	43. End of Fifth Year

A/N: From this chapter forward, there will be Snape bashing, but it's not because I hate him. It's because the characters think he was a bad person. I'm just putting it here so that no one gets upset. I do not hate Snape, but the characters do.

* * *

Just as they said they would be there, mum and dad were there the next day. No one slept that night. Once Fawkes stopped singing, people began talking again in low voices about what could have happened. We were all still at it when Flitwick came in the next day to tell us more about what happened the night before, and to let other years know that the exams had been postponed.

From what he told us Draco Malfoy managed to let the Death Eaters into the castle. Somehow he'd gotten them in from the Room of Requirement through a vanishing cabinet. That part of the story was still vague to me. One of them sent the Dark Mark up while they waited for Dumbledore who had left the castle for some reason. When he got back, he saw the Dark Mark was above the Astronomy Tower, and it was there that Professor Snape murdered him.

The entire Common Room was completely quiet when Flitwick gave this surprising announcement, but oddly enough, it seemed more subdued. It was as if everyone was holding in their breaths. I'd never liked Snape. I'd always found him to be a very vile, horrible, bully but I'd never suspected he'd be capable of murder. I felt chilled when Flitwick told us this.

"We will be having a funeral for Dumbledore here at the school," Flitwick continued. "Hogwarts will be his final resting place. We've written to all of your parents, but if you'd like to write them as well, you are free to leave the Common Room now to do so, now-" and he began looking around the Common Room. "Where are the Hoofer's, Nick Lawrence, and Tasha?"

We were all still sitting together, so we stood up as he called out for us. I figured it was because mum and dad were there already.

"Your parents would like for all of you to pack your trunks," he told us. "They are taking you home today."

"But the funeral!" Nick protested.

"They have promised you'll be back for the funeral. They told me to make sure to tell all of you that," Flitwick responded. "They are waiting in my office for all of you. Ms. Fadden, you will be staying with the Hoofer's."

I wasn't ready to go yet, but I knew it was best not to argue. I wondered if mum and dad wanted to take us out of school forever. We looked at each other before we all walked over to the dorm door. Upstairs, I began just throwing everything into my trunk. I was usually rather neat when it came to packing, but not that day.

"This feels unreal," Nick told me as he packed his trunk. "I feel like we're going to wake up and we'll be starting our History of Magic exam again."

"I know what you mean," I said closing my trunk.

I stood and looked around the room, taking it all in. What if this was the last time I ever saw this dorm? I was sure I had everything, but I decided to do a once over anyway. If I didn't, I figured I'd get it when we came back for the funeral.

"Luna knew last night," I said once I was done. I had everything. "She pulled something out of her pocket and then left. It was probably a DA coin. If we'd known, we might have been able to help maybe."

"Not Dumbledore," Nick said. "Maybe the others, but not him. She must have always kept that coin on her though. Honestly, I threw mine in my trunk after Hermione gave it to me and I haven't looked at it since. I always expected for you or Tasha to bring it up."

"Mine has been in the bottom of my trunk since last year too," I said. "I don't think too many people joined in last night to help."

"Probably for the best mate," Nick said as he shut his trunk. "Dumbledore's death is bad enough. We don't need to lose anyone else. I don't want to think of what would have happened to you or Tasha."

He stood up and then grabbed the handle of his trunk. He gazed around the room as if drinking it in. Out of the two of us, he probably wouldn't be back. His parents were so much more protective than mine were. As if confirming this, he sighed and then looked at me.

"I think this is the last time I'll ever step foot in here. There is no way mum and dad will want me back here, not with a teacher dying," he said. "I overheard mum saying that they were researching tutors anyway. So I think the decision was already made. I think they just wanted me to take my OWLs and then just tutor me for the last two years."

"Mum and dad will probably do the same, though it will probably be hard with Brenda. She's taking her OWLs next year."

"Some tutors are very qualified, and maybe all of us will learn together," Nick said. "Remember, we talked about that in first year. If we're not coming back, Tasha likely won't be either. It might be for the best. Are you ready to go?"

I nodded. I gave the room one more once-over before the two of us left. I couldn't help but go over in my head that I was going through so many last times. It was my last time walking down the steps. It was my last time walking through the Common Room. It was my last time greeting my sisters and Tasha who were waiting for us in the Common Room. And on and on it went as we made our way through the castle.

My parents and Nick's parents were waiting for us in Flitwick's office. All four were talking in serious voices though Flitwick was nowhere in sight.

"We have to be back for the funeral," Nick said the moment we entered the office. "We can't miss Dumbledore's funeral!"

"We'll be back, but I just want you at home Nick," Mrs. Lawrence said.

"Us too," Brianne told mum and dad. "We have to come back for the funeral."

"We'll all be here, we're even going to bring Ben, but kids, we just need you at home with us," mum answered. "Professor Flitwick has arranged that we can just floo directly home. We'll take care of your trunks, just go on."

"We're going back to the Hoofer's," Mr. Lawrence told Nick. "Garth is there with Ben and Noah. He said he'd wait there."

"Garth is there?" I asked feeling slight excitement.

"We needed someone to stay with Ben, and he volunteered," mum said. "So kids, you go first, and then we'll follow. Let Brianne go, and then the others can follow. The password is Albus. And don't worry, we're changing it. We just felt it was fitting for now."

I let everyone go first before I went. When it was my turn, I stepped in and called out our home and then the password before I began to spin. The next moment, our living-room came into view, and I nearly fell out. I managed to catch myself in time. Garth was just hugging Brenda when I stepped out.

"I still can't believe it," he was saying. "Dumbledore dead. But how?"

"Snape killed him," Brenda said as she pulled away.

"Snape?" Garth asked, and then he looked at me and nodded.

"Snape?" Ben asked. "But he's a teacher! A teacher killed Dumbledore?"

"By the sounds of it, yes," Brenda told him. "Snape killed Dumbledore."

"Snape, he's always been a huge git, but to actually commit murder?" Garth said shaking his head as he came over to hug me.

"But why?" Ben asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Unfortunately, he is a bad person who fooled us all," Garth told him. "I heard he used to be part of You-Know-Who's inner circle, and considering what happened last night, he still is. He managed to fool Dumbledore and everyone else."

"But someone should have suspected something!" Tasha spoke up from the floor.

She and Nick were sitting on the floor with Noah who was playing with some blocks.

"He's been such a bully over the years," she continued. "He's had it out for Barry for years, and there are countless others, and the teachers let him get away with it! The fact that he enjoyed bullying kids should have been a red flag!"

"We all just thought he was a git," Garth said. "No one could have guessed that he would actually- I mean, I just thought he was miserable in own life because he'd never had-" but he paused and then glanced over at Ben and then Brianne. "Well, because he didn't have love in his life as far as we know."

There were multiple loud pops suddenly which caused us all to jump. Brianne actually screamed.

"I'm sorry sweety," mum said. "It's just us."

"How did you apparate from Hogwarts?" Brenda asked frowning.

"We didn't," mum answered. "We made a couple of quick stops before we came home."

"We took your trunk home dear," Mrs. Lawrence said as she walked over to Nick to pat him on the head.

"Tasha dear, we need to talk to you," mum said. "If you could come into the kitchen with us please."

"Why?" I demanded.

"We will talk about it later," dad told me. "For now, we need to talk to Tasha, alone. Her parents are fine," he added as I opened my mouth to ask that very thing. "No one has been hurt. We just need to talk to her about something."

"Fine," I said as I went over to sit on the couch, but it wasn't fine.

She was my best friend, and we were protecting her. Why were we keeping secrets?

"Where are our trunks?" Brianne spoke up.

"Upstairs in your rooms, we sent them ahead when we left Hogwarts," mum said. "Just hang out in here with Garth. We'll be back soon. Please don't try to listen in either."

We watched as Tasha got up from the floor, and then followed my parents out of the room. I stared after them while everyone started to talk around me. I was so tempted to get up and listen, but I had a feeling that Garth and Nick's parents would stop me.

"Barry, whatever it is, they're keeping it a secret for a reason," Garth told me. "Just relax. I know you love her, but you know they're doing everything they can to protect her, okay?"

"I know," I said.

"So catch me up on everything else that was going on at Hogwarts. Sometimes I miss the place. I know Chester and Ralph do," he said.

"How are they?" I asked. "I haven't heard from them since last year when they left."

"They're in the States and have a flat together out there in some small Southern town.," Garth said. "They work in the MACUSA, that's the Ministry of Magic out there. They're also trying to recruit people to come out here and help us out. Some people are scared, but others are listening. They've even gone up to Canada to talk to the witches and wizards out there. A lot of them are thinking of coming out here as well."

"You write to each other then?" I asked.

"We don't write with owls," Garth said. "I'm sure you've heard of the Protean Charm. We have some charmed parchment we use to keep in contact with each other. I'll let them know you were asking about them. I'll need to let them know about Dumbledore anyway. It will probably take a long time for the News to get out there. They'll want to try and get back here for the funeral."

"Will they make it back in time?" I asked.

"They can try and arrange a port-key," Garth said. "If not, they'll be thinking of him, but I know they'll want to back, especially Ralph. He's always had great respect for Dumbledore."

"So has Ben," I said as I looked over at my little brother who was playing with Noah and Nick, but he was quiet. "So have a lot of people. Harry- he's, well, I don't imagine he is taking it well."

"No, I imagine not," Garth said. "I know they've been close since Harry came. But tell me what else has happened at school? You just did your OWLs, didn't you? Or were those canceled?"

"We just finished them," I said. "The other exams are canceled though, and so are classes. I'm not sure if they're doing them or not. They canceled them in my first year, so maybe they're doing the same this year."

"Well, at least you got yours out of the way," Garth said. "I can't believe you're about to go into the sixth year. And Ben will be going into first year next year, won't he?"

I shook my head.

"He's not eleven until September thirtieth," I told him. "He still has to wait another year. We might not even go back next year though. I get the feeling mum and dad will want us to stay home."

"Can't say I blame them," Garth said.

Throughout the conversation, I kept looking over at the door, but mum, dad, and Tasha were still gone. Why was it taking forever for them to talk to her? Garth kept asking me questions, and I knew he was trying to distract me. The others, even Nick's parents, were all on the floor with Noah.

Finally, my parents returned with Tasha. I looked at Tasha who appeared to be emotionless.

"Why don't you lot unpack?" Mum asked.

I was grateful for the dismissal, so I got up quickly and left the room with the others in tow. No one spoke while we went upstairs. The girls went in their room while Nick, Ben, Tasha, and I went down to my room. Sure enough, when we entered, it was to find our trunks in front of our beds. Once everyone was in my room, I quickly shut the door and then turned to Tasha.

"So what was that about?" I asked her. "Is it a big secret or something?"

"No," she said as she went over to sit on her bed. "Your parents just wanted to talk to me without everyone interrupting."

"So what's it about?" Nick asked as he sat on my bed. "Is it your parents?"

"No," she answered. "They did bring up my parents. They're safe still… but, I'm probably going to have to leave. I likely won't be able to go back to Hogwarts with you two. If you two do go back. Your mum and dad are having a family meeting with you lot later, but they're worried about Dumbledore gone and everything."

"Why?" Ben asked.

I sat with Nick on my bed while Ben joined Tasha.

"Because they think with Dumbledore gone, it might be easier to take over the Ministry," Tasha said. "And if they do, then you're all vulnerable, and they'll likely be going after muggle-borns more. They don't know for sure, but your dad said he has heard things. He says there are many things that can happen though with Dumbledore gone. They just want me to be prepared to go into hiding basically. They're going to keep their ears open, and if they hear of anything, they'll be sending me to your second cousin."

"But we could always go into hiding too," I said quickly. "If it gets that bad-"

"I think that's what the family meeting is about," Tasha told me. "They don't want to do anything that will jeopardize your education, and neither do I for that matter. If you all go into hiding, that means you won't be going back to Hogwarts, and you can't get a tutor, and they don't want your cousin to go back and forth either. Once you're in hiding, that's it. They would try to educate you at home, but you're all underage, and Brenda is about to start her fifth year."

"But for your sake, we could go-" I began.

"No," Tasha interrupted. "None of you are jeopardizing your educations for me! I have a safe place to go Barry! This is why your parents wanted to talk to me alone. I will not let Brenda be held back a year for me. The only way you're all going into hiding is if you're in immediate danger."

"But it's not right that you'll be held back," I said.

"It's worth the risk, and your cousin will help me. I just can't do magic is all," Tasha said.

"I think mum and dad will want to keep us home anyway though," I responded.

"Even if they do, they won't want to go into hiding right away," Tasha said. "Your dad still wants to go to work because he wants to know what is going on. It's important for him to find out everything and he can't if your family goes into hiding. It's not fair for your whole family to change their life for my sake. So please, Barry, don't fight this."

"But then what is the family meeting about?" Ben asked. "If it's not about us going into hiding?"

"I think they just want to let you know what the options are," Tasha said. "I think there is a very good chance that you lot aren't going back, but you're not going into hiding," and then she sighed. "And it's likely why they want me to know what's happening. If you don't go to school, I won't be either, and it will probably be obvious I'm staying with you. If it comes to a point that they are looking for Muggle-borns, they'll probably check here. By now, they must know who is friends with Muggle-borns. They'll try and see if your family is hiding me."

"I probably won't be going back either then," Nick said. "There is a reason they brought us all home after all."

"Maybe they're all just being paranoid though," Ben said. "Hogwarts should still be the safest place, right? I mean, Snape will be gone now, right? And after Death Eaters got in there once, they'll make sure it doesn't happen ever again."

"He does have a point," I said. "I bet all summer they'll be doing whatever it takes to make Hogwarts even safer. So mum and dad should just send us back, and then you could go back too. I think it will be really hard for the Death Eaters to take over the Ministry."

"That's what they're hoping, but they're exploring all options," Tasha said. "They don't want us to be left scrambling. A lot of people are taking precautions. Right now, as we speak, so is the Order. They're following all of Dumbledore's orders, and they are putting extra protection on other houses too. There is a good chance Harry Potter and his friends won't be back either. If Dumbledore can be vulnerable then so can Harry."

"For once, I'm not upset I can't go next year," Ben said. "I don't want to go back when it's all scary. I know it's probably safer, but I'll be worried all the time."

"I'm glad you're not either," I said. "I hope it's all done before you need to go but I think that's being too optimistic."

I got up to unpack my trunk as mum and dad asked. I wondered if I'd be packing it again for next year. At least if we didn't go back, I'd hear more about what was going on in the Wizarding World, and I wouldn't have to be worrying about Ben all the time. Perhaps it would be less stressful to learn at home anyway. Would one tutor be able to look after all of us though?

* * *

We didn't have the family meeting until the night before the funeral. By then, we were all settled in, and the shock over what had happened was slowly starting to fade. I actually felt better being at home instead of being at Hogwarts by that point. I liked having the comfort of my parents and my siblings just right there.

We were all in the living-room playing Monopoly (on Ben's request) when mum and dad entered the room.

"It's time we have a talk," mum said. "We were going to save it until after the funeral, but I think this is as good of a time as any."

"We can't go into hiding," Brenda stated looking up from the dice she'd just rolled. "I have to do my OWLs next year! If we went for Barry, we need to go for me."

"And we agree," dad told her as they both sat down on the couch. "And it's why we are going to discuss our options. Going into hiding is the last resort, and we want all four- well, five of you to get your education. I still need to go to work."

"So what is there to talk about?" Brenda asked. "I know what happened is bad, but Hogwarts can't be less safe. There have been mad stuff happening ever since Barry started, and everyone was still fine. They are probably going to make the castle more secure after tomorrow."

"But there is a chance we're going to feel that it's safer for all of you to stay home," mum said, and Brenda opened her mouth furiously, but mum put her hand up to stop her. "If we do that, we won't go into hiding right away. We might just feel more comfortable with you three at home. If we do that, we will hire two tutors. There is one we know of that is excellent when it comes to helping kids pass their OWLs and NEWTs. He will focus on you, while we will hire another that will take care of Barry, Tasha, and Brianne."

"Can they take care of two different years?" Brianne asked. "I'll be in third, and Barry will be in his Sixth."

"Yes, there are tutors who have multiple students. There are parents out there who do not wish to send their children to Hogwarts. Either they teach them at home themselves, or they hire tutors. There are people who are used to teaching more than one year at a time," mum responded.

"And if we have to go into hiding?" Brenda asked.

"Then there won't be any tutors, but we'll do our best to educate all of you," dad said. "But like we said, that's a last resort. This meeting is to let all of you know what may or may not happen. There is a chance as well that if we do send you back to Hogwarts, we might decide to pull you out."

"Well, I'd like to see this tutors credentials," Brenda said. "I want to know his success rate; I want to know how many students he has tutored. I want to know if-"

"We will make sure we get everything you need to know Brenda," mum said. "The last thing we want to do is to stop you from getting your education."

"And I suppose we don't get a say in any of this," Brenda responded.

"No, I'm afraid you don't," dad said. "There won't be any hissy fits from you if we decide not to send you. As of right now, we don't see a reason for why we can't, but with Dumbledore gone, we have to take precautions, and we want all of you to know what is going on. We don't want you to be blindsided if we tell you that you're not going back."

"Now that we've discussed that," mum began, "we also need to talk about this summer. There are going to be a lot more restrictions this year. None of you are working at all. Your father will go pick up everything you need from Diagon Alley when your book lists come. You can still go outside, but never alone, and never past dark. We're not sure if we'll have the pool going this year as it's always cold anyway, but we might. We have seen more than one Dementor around lately though, so we'd rather you not be outside for too long."

"Aren't there any anti-dementor wards?" I asked.

"We have some up," mum said. "But whether they'll work, we don't know. Dementors can sense emotions even from a distance and with five scared children around, they may be able to sense it even with the wards up. We've done what we can, but there is still that chance. Your father tries to strengthen it every morning."

"How does it work?" Brianne asked.

"You've heard of the Patronus Charm?" Mum asked, and we all nodded. "It acts like that, although of course, it's not one. It's just the best way to describe it. The shield we have up basically blocks almost all emotions. The problem is, it isn't exactly reliable. It's why we are going to teach all of you how to do a real Patronus this summer. And Ben should be with any one of us, so we should all be able to protect him."

"But we can't," Brenda said quickly. "It's against the rules. We'll be expelled!"

"Underage magic can't be traced when an adult witch or wizard is around, but that being said, parents can give their children permission for educational purposes," dad said. "There are some parents who do wish to train their children still during the summers, so they don't fall behind. That rule is mostly in place because of Muggle-borns. We, however, don't want you taking advantage of that. You are to never do magic without your mother or me around, or a tutor."

"So then if we go into hiding-" Brianne began.

"We'd have to be cautious because they'd still know that magic is being used, even if it's your mother or me just because of all of you," dad answered.

"So you two won't be able to do magic either then?" Brenda stated.

"We'd probably refrain from it, but I'll be Secret Keeper. They can't find us even if all three of you do magic all the time. We'd still rather not risk it, but the only way for them to find us is if I told them where we are," dad said. "But you still won't be doing magic if we get to that point, so don't even ask."

Brenda said out an impatient sigh but didn't argue.

"Is there anything else?" Mum asked.

"How will you know if the Ministry falls?" I asked. "It's not like they're going to announce it."

"It's why I need to be able to go to work so that I can hear things," dad said. "They won't announce it, but there will be signs, even if they want it to be subtle. Besides, we will have other ways to know. If the Ministry falls, we will be sending Tasha away, and we may reconsider sending the rest of you back."

"But we won't go into hiding right away?" Brenda asked.

"No, we won't," mum said. "We will just teach you at home unless it becomes really dangerous, and then we will."

"Now, we want all of you to go to bed early so that we can be ready for the funeral tomorrow," dad said clapping his hands and standing up. "You can finish your game later."

I honestly hoped my parents were just overly cautious. The Ministry of Magic couldn't just fall! I knew Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic was well protected. The Ministry was usually hard to infiltrate as well. The Death Eaters couldn't just march in and take over just like that! They would have to go through security. I ignored the nagging voice in the back of my mind that they likely had spies. I just got ready for bed silently.

"Do you think a lot of people will be there tomorrow?" Tasha asked me.

She was already laying under the covers.

"More than likely," I said. "Witches and Wizards from all over the world will be there. Dumbledore made an impact on so many lives. He did so much for the Wizarding World."

"I'm scared tomorrow is the last time I'll ever see Hogwarts," Tasha said. "And I feel selfish thinking that because I should be thinking about Dumbledore."

"There is no rule that you have to think of only one thing," I said. "And I wouldn't worry about that anyway. All three of us will go back next year. We worried in first year that we wouldn't go back, and yet we did. It's the same this time."

"Yes, maybe, well, goodnight Barry," Tasha said sounding sad.

I wished she had the same optimism she'd had a couple of months ago. We had to all go back! We just had to!

* * *

Mum and dad had us all up early the next day. They wanted us to eat and then dress in our dress robes. I wondered how everyone was doing at Hogwarts. I imagined everyone was somewhat subdued at the moment. Everyone would be getting up early that day as well to get ready. After the funeral, they would all be boarding the Hogwarts Express to go home. Mum and dad wanted us to leave with them, though I knew my sisters had been hoping to take the train one last time.

I let Tasha get ready first. While she did so, I went to Ben's room to check up on him. He was standing in front of his mirror, and he was trying to tie a tie.

"I'll never get the hang of these things," he said once he noticed me looking at him.

"I'll help you learn," I told him as I went over to help him tie it. "It's easy once you get the hang of it. I used to feel the same way. You'll be an expert in no time."

I quickly tied it for him and then stood back. It was like I'd used a time-turner, and I was looking at myself at almost eleven-years-old. I knew siblings looked like each other, but it was still so odd to see him looking so much like me. If I took a picture of myself at age eleven and compared it to Ben's, I'd bet people would have a hard time telling us apart.

"How come you're not getting ready?" Ben asked. "Mum and dad want us to be ready so that we can get there early."

"Tasha is getting ready," I told him.

"You can use my bathroom if you need to then. She'll probably be a while. Girls take forever; even Brenda takes forever."

That actually wasn't a bad idea. I had a feeling my parents were going to be very impatient that day. So I told him I'd do that, and then I went back to my room to get my stuff. Tasha was still in the bathroom when I grabbed my dress robes from my bed, and then left the room. I was just wearing plain black ones that day. It seemed more respectful than my blue ones.

Once we were all ready, we met mum and dad down in the living-room. Garth was standing with them and talking. I wondered how we were all getting there.

"Are we going through the floo?" Brianne asked.

"No, the floo will probably be busy today," mum told her. "It's why Garth is here. We're all going to apparate there. They've set up apparition points in Hogsmeade. We're just waiting for our time to go."

"Can I sit with the other Ravenclaw's?" I asked. "I'd like to see them."

"You can all sit with your friends, but there is no wandering around. Once the funeral is over, you are all to meet us so we can leave. I know all of you would like to go on the train, but I'd rather not waste time to go pick you all up later. We're going to go there, and then come back home," mum said.

"Can I sit with Barry?" Ben asked.

"I don't see why not," mum said. "But no wandering. You aren't to ask your brother to take you inside the castle. This isn't a trip for you to see Hogwarts. We are taking you so you can pay respect to Albus."

"I know," Ben responded. "I just want to sit with Barry."

Dad checked his watch.

"Well, we should be able to go at any time," he said. "Ben and Brianne, take my hands please."

"I'll take you mate," Garth said as he walked over to take my hand. As soon as I took a hold of his hand, he turned on the spot.

I hated the feeling of apparition but thankfully, the suffocation feeling didn't last long. My feet hit the pavement, and I felt cold right away. I knew we were in Hogsmeade before I opened my eyes. Hogsmeade was cold, no matter what time of year it was. When I opened my eyes, it was too see that we were just in front of Honeydukes. There were loud pops around us as everyone else appeared.

We could just see Hogwarts from a distance. We began walking over to the castle. Ben rushed over to take hold of my hand. I was relieved to see as we got closer that there were carriages waiting to take the villagers or anyone else over to the castle, so we wouldn't have to walk. We all climbed into one.

"Odd being in one of these again," Garth said. "Never thought I would again."

"It is odd," mum said as she looked around. "I haven't been in one of these since I was eighteen. That was a long minute ago, and yet it feels as if time really hasn't passed. I could be a student returning to Hogwarts."

To me, that was an odd thought. I knew my parents had gone to Hogwarts, but it was still weird to think of them as students. I knew someday my own kids would feel the same thing. One day I would be sending my kids off to Hogwarts, and they would think it as odd that their old man had boarded the train, and then these carriages as a child their own age.

I glanced over at Ben, who was beside the window of the carriage, he was peering out, watching as the castle drew nearer.

When the carriage stopped, we all climbed out and looked around. I felt as if I could have just gone away for the holidays. The big difference was all the chairs by the lake. There were hundreds of them facing a long white table.

"Meet us back here," mum told us. "We're going to go find some seats."

"Come on; I think I see the Hogwarts kids," I told Ben as I seized his hand.

There were already a lot of people there. Ben wasn't the only child there; I saw some tiny ones standing with their parents. The Hogwarts students were just leaving the castle, and I looked for the blue robes of my house, but everyone was wearing dress robes, so it wasn't easy to see who belong in what house. It was fitting though. We were all united as one for at least one day.

"I see that Philip bloke," Ben suddenly spoke up.

"You remember him?" I asked, and he nodded.

He was pointing at a group of students standing just near the seats. I held his hand tight as I walked over with Tasha trailing us. I wasn't sure where my sisters had gone off to. When we reached them, it was to see that it was all the fifth year Ravenclaw's except Luna. She was nowhere in sight. Nick was amongst them though.

"There you are," Nick said. "We were just wondering where you lot were."

"We just got here," I said. "Where is Luna?"

"I think she's with the Gryffindor's," Samaira said. "Is this Ben?"

She was staring at my brother who just nodded. He wasn't a shy kid, but I was sure it was overwhelming for him to be around all these older kids.

"But you're just Barry all over again," Gretchen said.

"Yes, I've heard," Ben said as he glanced up at me.

"We should find seats," Philip said. "We were waiting for you to show up. Nick said you'd all be here."

"We had to wait for a certain time to come," I said.

"We wanted to wait because this might be the last time we'll ever see each other," Ivan said. "There are rumours that Hogwarts might close, but some of us might not be back anyway. We wanted to make sure we could all say goodbye to each other."

"And I wanted to apologize to everyone," Gretchen said. "I've already talked to Luna this morning, and she really is such a sweet girl, but I owe everyone else an apology as well. I've been horrible to most of you since first year, and one of the biggest reasons is insecurity."

"Well, we all figured that," Nick told her.

"Yes, I'm sure you did, but before I came to Hogwarts, I went to Primary School. I didn't even admit that Katrina and Samaira for years. Mum and dad thought it was best if I went so I could learn to interact with other kids, and I would have basic knowledge as well. Back then, I noticed it was the mean girls who ruled, but I was just this quiet kid who did her school work. I didn't really bother making friends because I knew I'd leave them soon. The summer before Hogwarts, I felt that maybe I should have the mean girl persona and I'd have a lot of friends. So that's what I did. I just wanted people to like me, and then I felt even more insecure because everyone always told me how ugly I am. So I just felt worse about myself. I ran into those mean girls from my Primary School last Christmas. It turns out that no one actually liked them. I just thought people did. And I always believed Harry Potter. The moment he came out of that maze, I knew something was wrong, but I just went with the majority of people to fit in. I'm just a coward, and I've spent the last five years being fake."

"We should never have made fun of you for your looks," Philip said. "I just did because it was a low blow."

Gretchen shrugged. "I probably deserved it, but I truly am sorry. I went about making friends the wrong way. I just feel with Professor Dumbledore's death, and the fact we may never see each other again- well, I had to apologize. Luna, well, Luna is the bravest person I know. Not just because she was there for the battle, but because she has never cared what people have thought. She's always told us her barmy stories, and no matter how much we laughed at her, she stuck by them. We hid her stuff all these years, and it was so wrong."

"We're good," I told her as I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't a good time to hold grudges. Whatever happened is in the past. We all need to move on and be united because what is out there is bigger than any petty school fight."

The others murmured their agreement, and to my surprise, Philip even stepped forward to hug her.

Philip led us into a row of seats that were still empty. Once we were seated, I began looking around at everyone. I saw Luna from a distance with Neville Longbottom. I continued to scan the crowd, finding Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione not too far from us. Though there were so many chairs, I didn't think there would be enough as more and more people were trying to find seats. Even the castle ghosts were outside though; it was hard to see them in the sunlight.

"Madame Maxime is here," Tasha whispered to me, and she pointed out to the huge Beauxbatons Headmistress.

"She arrived maybe a day after you lot left," Ivan said. "Maybe two days. I don't remember; it's hard to keep track of everything lately."

"What has been going on at school?" Nick asked.

"Nothing," Kevin answered. "Seamus Finnegan had a big argument with his mother to let him stay here, and people have been arriving, but that's it. It's been eerily quiet around here. I guess rooms in Hogsmeade have been booked for days."

We all fell silent when we heard a strange sound, like pleasant singing but not as beautiful as the Phoenix Song. I looked around the source only to realize that it was coming from the lake, so even the Merpeople were there.

Tasha let out a loud gasp, and I looked over at her. She was watching the aisle between the chairs. Hagrid was moving up the center carrying something wrapped in purple velvet, and I knew it was Dumbledore's body in his arms. Ben reached over to grip my arm. His eyes were wide as we watched Hagrid move up to place Dumbledore onto the table in the front.

None of us had ever been to a funeral before. I knew it was likely so confusing and bizarre for him. I was having a hard time myself, but how did young children view death? To Ben, Albus Dumbledore was someone he'd never met, but he'd been an amazing and powerful wizard, and now he was dead and on the table in front of us.

Once Hagrid had Dumbledore placed on the table, he turned and rushed back down the aisle sobbing. I turned to watch him go, and to my surprise, I saw he'd brought his half-brother, Grawp. I'd never seen a giant before, so I couldn't help but stare over at him. Giants looked like big misshapen humans. The music stopped, and I turned to look at Dumbledore's body again.

Around me, my classmates were crying. The tears were burning in my eyes, but I was doing my best not to cry. I wasn't sure why, perhaps because Ben was beside me. A small man was now at the front, and he began the eulogy. I glanced over at Ben again. His eyes were still huge as they gazed over at Dumbledore's body. He wasn't crying yet either. He seemed to be in too much shock.

When the little man at the front finished talking, it was quiet for a few moments before the table containing Professor Dumbledore's body suddenly erupted into bright white flames. I jumped, but around me, people began screaming. There were strange shapes in the white smoke as it rose around his body. I relaxed once it stopped, and instead, a white marble tomb encased the table and Dumbledore's body. It was then that the tears finally streamed down my cheeks. Ben let out a shout when several arrows flew through the air. I looked around for the source only to realize that it was from the Centaurs, and that's when it really hit me. Centaurs usually didn't care about a humans death, and there they were paying tribute to our late Headmaster. I knew there'd been a feud with them after Firenze had become our teacher. I had a feeling that was over now. I felt chilled even though it was hot at Hogwarts.

I wiped at my face and looked at Ben again, and he still wasn't crying. He still wore his expression of shock as he looked around at everything that was going on.

People were beginning to get up by that point.

"Come on," I said to Ben as I stood up.

We all began filing out. Us Ravenclaw's stood in a group for a moment before Gretchen came over to hug us all. With that, we each started hugging each other.

"If we don't see each other again, it was great knowing all of you," Philip said. "Are you lot taking the train home?"

I shook my head. "My parents want to take us home right away. We'll stay in contact though. I should find my sisters. I hope we do see each other again in September though. I'll see you all later."

I didn't want to say goodbye, so still gripping my little brother's hand, I turned and moved through the crowd. I could see my parents waiting for us by the path that would take us back to Hogsmeade. I decided I wasn't even going to say goodbye to the castle either, I knew I'd be back, and someday, You-Know-Who would be gone.


	44. Summer Before Sixth Year

Summer was rather quiet and very dull, though I understood this year why we couldn't do much. We were still allowed to go outside, but our time was limited as mum was too scared to let us be out for a long time. They didn't even have the pool running that year, not that it would have made a difference. With all the Dementors still breeding, it was usually chilly and foggy outside anyway.

Mum and dad wanted us to keep with our studies until they knew what was going on. None of us had homework that year, but they still gave us school work at our age level anyway. They even had Ben reading ahead on First Year work, but he didn't mind anyway. He'd already done so, and he was always looking to do more work anyway. Some days, he sat reading through Brianne's second-year school work.

Tasha was rather quiet that summer. While the rest of us still tried to play and have fun, she often sat with her nose behind either a fiction book or one of our school textbooks. Sometimes she would sit with Brenda and go over what had been on our OWL examinations.

Our floo network was still passworded, but our parents wanted it used rarely. If any of our friends came over, even Nick, they had to be apparated to an apparition point. They would have to knock on the door and answer security questions before they were allowed in.

Dad usually came home to tell us News of a death or an attack. I was used to most of this by now, but I was upset one morning when he announced Mad-Eye Moody's death. I hadn't known him personally, but I'd heard so many stories about him, and he'd once been a very well respected Auror. Apparently, they'd been trying to get Harry from his aunt and uncles home to an undisclosed safe house. What I find odd was why did they fly?

I waited until my siblings and Tasha were gone before I asked mum this. Dad had just left for work.

"Because the Ministry made it illegal for anyone to be able to apparate or disapparate or use the floo network, or a port-key from their place," mum explained. "It was all for his protection, but it ended up trapping him. We don't know the details, but your dad thinks they did that on purpose. There is a protection on Harry's house that breaks when he is seventeen. It was placed on his house after his mother sacrificed herself for him."

"But they're all okay?" I asked.

"As far as I know," mum said.

"And what if we need to get Tasha out of here? Or us?" I asked which is why I asked the question initially.

"It only applied to Harry," mum said. "We are a magical home, so that doesn't apply to us. I'm not sure if they have more restrictions on muggle-born homes, but Tasha is here anyway. And Brianne's friends are safe. Don't worry about any of that honey."

I hated when my parents told me not to worry because I was going to worry. It was so hard not to. I didn't say this to her; I just nodded and then left the room. I just had a feeling that we were going to lose so many people before this was all over.

* * *

One night, we were all in the living room together. Mum and dad were still undecided about whether or not we were going to Hogwarts, but they'd gotten some assignments from the tutors we might use if we didn't return. I was struggling through and Arithmancy assignment while Ben was reading a book about basic wand safety. Tasha, Brenda, and Brianne were reading through some of my old books of spells.

Mum and dad were talking in low voices when a silvery dolphin flew into the room. Ben was the first to notice this.

"What is that?" He asked.

The rest of us looked up wondering what he was talking about. A silvery dolphin was flying around the room. Mum stood up looking terrified. I knew what it was, so I didn't understand why she would look so scared. It was just a Patronus. Did that mean that there were Dementors nearby? Was that why she was frightened.

"The Ministry fell earlier this evening. Scrimgeour is dead. We promised we'd warn you."

And then the dolphin disappeared.

"What-what was that?" Brianne asked. "That was a Patronus, wasn't it? Why did it talk?"

"It's one of the ways the Order communicates," dad answered. "It's one of the most reliable ways aside from The Protean Charm."

"But it just said… is it true?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I believe it is," dad responded. "And if the Ministry has fallen, it means that you aren't going back to Hogwarts."

"No!" Brenda shouted jumping up. "It's my fifth year!"

"We know honey, but who knows what will happen now," mum said. "I'm sorry Brenda, but I'm not comfortable with sending you back. I promise that the tutor we have found is one of the best."

Dad sighed and then looked over at Tasha who was staring at them fearfully.

"And that means we're going to have to contact Albert. We'll need to send you away sooner rather than later," dad said to her. "I didn't want it to go this far, but I need you to go upstairs and get ready right now, my dear."

"Why right now?" I asked. "Why not at least until we know for sure?"

"Because they could start searching homes," dad said. "I don't believe they will search for muggle-borns tonight if they even plan to… I get the feeling they're searching for, well, others, but I'm not taking any chances. They know we were friendly with Dumbledore, and they might even guess we're part of the Order, even if we're unofficial members. They might think we're hiding Harry Potter here."

"Why would we hide Harry Potter here?" Brianne asked. "None of us have even talked to him."

"Because they'll think anyone who is friendly with Albus will be helping Harry, and that includes us," dad told her. "I don't want any arguments. Tasha, please get your things ready. Barry will help you. I'm going to contact Albert, and we'll be ready to go within an hour. If our security charms go off, we'll have to take you even sooner."

Tasha nodded and stood up. She wasn't crying yet, but I was close to it. Mum and dad were wrong. They weren't going to come to our house. We weren't even real Order members. There were more important people out there that they could be searching, and more than likely, they were at the Weasley's. As I thought of this, I thought about Ginny and shivered. I hoped nothing bad would happen to her family.

Up in my room, Tasha began putting most of her stuff in her trunk.

"I think you'll be back by the end of the summer," I told her as I started to help.

"I don't think so," Tasha said. "Your parents have been talking to me a lot this summer. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be Barry. Your family has done so much for me, and the last thing I want to do is put all of you in danger by staying. Maybe no one will come here tonight, or at all this summer, but maybe they will. Your parents don't actually believe they'll be looking for muggle-borns right away, but no one can predict what they'll do. And what if they think that Harry is here? You're an affluent family who was close to Dumbledore. They might think you're using your wealth to hide him. What if they're searching all your other family members as we speak?"

"But this might be unnecessary," I said weakly. "It's not right."

"It's not right for me to stay and endanger all of you either," Tasha said. "If they showed up right now and found me here, they would probably try to take me away or something, and your family would fight. It would put all of you in danger, especially Ben, who can't even defend himself. Your parents think they'll look into why you lot aren't at school either, and they could find me here. I'm going to your cousins. Please, just do as your parents said, and help me."

I didn't respond, but I was fuming. Deep down, I knew my parents were just protecting her, but at the moment, I didn't want to see it that way. I felt they were being way too cautious. I believed she could stay a little while longer, and it was not likely at all that anyone would think the Hoofer's would hide Harry Potter at their house. We were unofficial members of the Order, so how would the Death Eaters know we were involved?

We were nearly done packing when my parents entered the room.

"Are you ready?" Mum asked her and Tasha nodded.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here, and thank you for keeping me safe," she said.

"It's not a problem," mum said. "We wish you could stay longer, but we don't want to take any chances. Albert is expecting you. We will send your things ahead, and then we'll take you over there."

"And I know you think we are being too cautious," dad added to me. "But there are things we haven't told you, and we still won't tell you. What we will say is that many members of the Order have had their home searched, and more are being searched as we stand here. Once they move on from them, they'll continue to look. They are looking for Harry Potter right now, and they won't rule anyone out from hiding him."

"I know," I responded, but I was still upset.

Tasha walked over to hug me. While she was clutching me, mum waved her wand, and all of Tasha's stuff disappeared. I'd grown used to having her residing in my room, and now it looked empty with all of her things gone.

"Take care of yourself," she whispered to me. "If you do end up going back, stay out of trouble please, Barry."

I nodded, but I knew I wasn't going back. I just pulled away and then went over to sit on my bed. I watched as mum took hold of Tasha's hand, and then simultaneously, mum and dad apparated, taking Tasha away. Who knew when I would see her again? What if I never did? I stared down at my feet trying hard not to give into tears. I was nearly seventeen; I was too old for that.

* * *

Though I'd been angry with my parents the night before, the next day, I understood why they sent her away as soon as possible. No Death Eaters showed up at our house, but we found out what was happening when the Daily Prophet was delivered the next morning. Harry Potter was wanted by the Ministry of Magic for the Death of Dumbledore. It was on the front page, and I looked over at mum and dad questioningly, had they known this would happen?

"Did you know that they were going to blame him?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," mum answered quickly. "We just thought they'd be after him, but don't you see, Barry? They're doing whatever they can to capture him by turning the Wizarding World against him!"

"But no one would be daft enough to believe that!" Brenda said.

"People are scared, and they want answers," dad said. "Remember, they didn't want to believe him about You-Know-Who before. He has a hundred galleon prize on his head at the moment. And just because they haven't shown up here, it doesn't mean they won't," and then he laid the Daily Prophet on the table and pointed to another article.

We all moved forward to see what it was. It was a Muggle-born Registry. Anyone who was Muggle-born had to prove where they got their magic from. Otherwise, they'd be accused of stealing it. According to the rubbish article, it was impossible for them to have magic without any magical ancestry.

"We never suspected that either," mum told us. "But we did worry they'd do something as one of their aims is to get rid of any blood that isn't worthy, but not this! So, unfortunately, even if they suspect Harry isn't here, they might come looking for Tasha or any other muggle-born. We are considered a blood traitorous family, and with the Ministry being taken over, they'll be able to get our address, and they may show up at any time. Our security and defensive spells may not hold up. After all, they broke into homes of the Order."

"I don't understand how they think Muggle-borns can steal magic," Brenda said. "We're talking about kids around Ben's age! How could an eleven-year-old kid who hasn't heard of magic except on their telly's know about it, or to even steal it?"

"She's right, people won't let it happen," I said.

"Barry, it's happening right-" Dad began, but as he was saying this, the house started to shake.

The pictures on the walls started to fall off. Brenda and Brianne began to scream while Ben ran around the table to climb into my lap, though he was much too big for that now. Was it an earthquake? Weren't we supposed to stand in a doorway or something? As this thought entered my mind, loud clangs began going off as well.

"It's them," mum whispered.

The house stopped shaking, and as it did this, the chandelier above the table began to fall, but before it could hit the table, dad waved his wand quickly. The alarms were still going off.

"Did they get through?" I asked.

"Some barriers they have," dad answered. "We're going to have to let them in, or else it's going to start again. It's too dangerous to let it go on."

"No!" Brianne shouted!

"I'm sorry dear, but we can't fight it," mum said.

Together, they stood up and began murmuring under their breaths while they waved their wands around. I thought I felt the magic around me; it was almost like a wave or something. They stopped murmuring and lowered their wands before looking around.

"All four of you stay in here! Do not go upstairs, and do not mention Albert or Tasha, or anyone else. I know it's a lot to ask from the four of you, but we need you to lie as best as you can," mum said.

"Death Eaters are at our house," Brianne said. "Oh no, they're going to kill mum and dad! Death Eaters are here!"

The four of sat the table feeling frightened, but all I could think of was were all the spells I'd learned that last year. I could defend my family if I needed to. We could hear loud arguing voices, and I tightened my grip on Ben. Should I go in there and protect them?

Mum, dad and some cloaked figures entered the room moments later. Brenda and Brianne rushed around the table to move closer to Ben and me.

"As you can see, my family is just trying to have breakfast," dad said as he pointed out to us. "And my four children are frightened. We would appreciate it if you'd leave us in peace."

"We won't be going anywhere until we've searched the place," one of the cloaked figures said. "As of today, Muggle-borns are to come into the Ministry for questioning, and the Fadden's are not at their home. Their young daughter is known to hang around your son, and she spends her holidays with you. We just want to talk to her, and if you have nothing to hide, you'll allow us to search your home."

"Search if you must, but we aren't hiding anything. Just leave my wife and children alone," dad said. "I need to leave for work soon, and you are trespassing-"

"You will not be going anywhere until we've searched your home. We do not wish to hurt anyone, and we won't have to if you don't fight us," the cloaked figure said. "If you are hiding anyone here, we will know."

"Search our home then, and then let us have our breakfast in peace," mum said angrily. "We haven't done anything to deserve this intrusion."

"We'll be the ones who decide that," the Death Eater said before turning to his mates. "Search the house. Leave nothing unturned. I'll supervise this lot," and then he turned back to us. "You may finish your breakfast."

None of us moved, however. They were going to go through all of our things! They would go through all of my things! Would they have access to my trunk? Mum and dad had charmed it so no one but people I trusted could open it. What would they do if they couldn't get into it?

I remembered my anger from the night before with mum and dad. They were so right to send her away immediately. If they'd waited, she'd be taken away that day, and I wouldn't have stood for it. There would have been a fight. Tasha and my parents were right.

The Death Eaters stayed for a good while. Once they finished searching inside the house, they went out into our grounds to search. The one supervising us didn't really say much. He just stood in the doorway staring at us.

"Will this be much longer," dad asked politely. "I don't make it a habit to be late to work, and my family has their own things they need to do."

"It won't hurt you to miss one day of work Hoofer," the Death Eater responded. "Given what I've heard about your family, and seeing this house, it won't hurt you to miss a day of work."

"There's a reason we are well off," dad responded with annoyance.

"Because of an inheritance?" The Death Eater laughed.

"That's really none of your business," dad said. "As you can see, we aren't hiding anything from you. There is nothing in our grounds, so I ask that you call off your search."

The Death Eater didn't respond. I imagined if we could see his face, he'd be smiling though. Thankfully, his mates returned and they both shook their heads at who I was suspecting was their leader.

"There isn't anything here," one of them said. "But their oldest son does communicate with the suspect. We did find some letters between the two of them, but the latest dates from last summer."

"Do you know where she is?" One of them asked me, and I gulped nervously as he moved closer to me.

"I haven't seen her since the last day of school," I responded in a shaky voice.

"But your family is known to drop her off," the Death Eater said.

"We took her home after the funeral, and we haven't seen or heard from her since," dad said. "So I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrogate my underage son."

"We'll be checking back once and a while," the Death Eater told him. "If we find out she or any muggle-born is here, you will regret it. We do not wish to harm any child, so for your own safety, don't test us."

Right, I couldn't help but think to myself. I knew they'd love more than anything to hurt one of us, but I was sure they had orders not to.

"We will be back," one of the other Death Eaters said as they began leaving the room. "There is no need for your protective spells now."

No one moved at first once they left, but then dad put a finger to his lips before he left the room. Mum rushed over to hug the four of us to her. Brianne and Brenda both began to weep. My legs were growing numb from Ben sitting on me, but I didn't make him move. Dad was gone for a few minutes before he returned.

"They're gone," he said. "You can all relax, but we have some cleaning up to do from what I've seen. They've ruined a lot of our things."

I finally lifted Ben off me and then got up. I rushed from the room and into the living-room. Our couches were turned over, and there was stuff all over the floor. Did they really need to do that? I didn't stop moving, I kept rushing until I got to the steps, and then I ran up them. I kept running until I entered my room. They'd destroyed, but thankfully for whatever reason, they'd left my pictures alone. Even the ones with Tasha.

However, my trunk appeared to be useless now. It was like they'd blown it up or something because everything was all over the floor. My textbooks were thrown all around the room; my notes were scattered all over the floor. I got down on my hands and knees to see if I could find my letters. I usually kept them all bundled up together. It didn't take me long to find them, and most were there except my ones from Tasha. They'd actually taken them.

I stood up again and gazed at my pictures again. As I did so, I noticed that one of them was missing. It was one taken just that year of Tasha and I wearing our Prefect badges. They must have decided to take the most recent one of her. I felt chilled though it was usually warm in my room. I stepped back and then sat on my bed, still staring at the place where the picture had been.

"Son?" I heard.

I looked up to see dad standing in my doorway. He looked around the room.

"Seems they didn't feel like destroying the bedrooms too much, though they did do a good number on your trunk. We'll have to get you a new one," he said walking into the room. "I think they just wanted to ruin our downstairs for the hell of it. They left Ben's room alone for the most part, thankfully. They just threw things around I think."

"They took one of my pictures and all of her letters," I said. "They took the picture of us as Ravenclaw Prefects. I should have hidden them all, but I didn't take you seriously. I thought you and mum were going overboard."

"I don't think it would have changed much son," dad said. "They might have destroyed more if they didn't find something."

"But they're going to find out that her parents don't want her," I said. "And other things. A lot of our letters were private, and they might take advantage of the fact that her parents don't care about her. They might guess they're not even hiding together."

"They're all well protected though, Barry," dad said. "There isn't much they can do with that information. Come on, let's clean your room up. Ben is cleaning his room, and your mother is helping your sisters clean their room. I'll get you another trunk soon."

"What's the point if I'm never going back?" I asked as dad began waving his wand around.

Soon my things were in neat piles. I noticed the DA coin sitting on top of some rubbish, and I rushed over to grab it. I glanced at it to see if there were any new messages written on it. There was nothing new except someone asking the DA to gather together in a classroom near the Room of Requirement. I was assuming that was the one that Luna had responded to. I was glad they hadn't gotten a hold of it, but I was guessing they'd thought it was just a galleon. Hermione had been smart to use fake galleons. I quickly pocketed it and then turned to dad.

"They weren't suspicious of the chalkboard at any rate," dad said who was gazing at it. He saw me looking at me. "You may still be able to go to school next year even if you don't go this year. We're not ruling it out completely, Barry."

I just shrugged. I didn't care about too much at the moment. A bunch of sickos had a picture of Tasha and me, and they also had my letters from her.

"I'm not going into work today after all," dad told me. "So if you need me, I'll be downstairs fixing everything. Try not to be so down, son."

It was so easy for him to say, but I couldn't help it. My best friend was in hiding, and I probably wouldn't see her again for a long time. I wasn't going back to Hogwarts, and I had no idea what was going on with Nick. Why should I be happy?

* * *

A couple of days later, we learned that we would be going to Hogwarts after all, but it wasn't up to mum or dad. Hogwarts now had mandatory attendance for all students ages eleven and older. Though I did want to go back, I didn't find this to be good news at all. I felt it was some sort of trap, and so did Brenda, and she'd been the angriest about not going back.

"Are we going to go into hiding?" Brianne asked as mum and dad glanced at each other worriedly.

"No, you'll all go," dad said. "I need to stay at work for as long as possible. Otherwise, I'd be doing the spell this instant."

"Why is Rita Skeeter writing a book about Dumbledore?" Ben asked as he pointed to the cover of the Daily Prophet. "It says there is an excerpt in it."

"That's been News for a while," dad said waving a hand. "She's probably just trying to cash in on his death."

"Can we get the book?" Ben asked. "She did write that interview about Harry!"

"We probably can, but that's not really our biggest concern right now, Ben," dad told him. "And I wanted to talk to you. Once your siblings go back to school, you won't be going outside by yourself. We don't have our security spells up anymore, and you're even more vulnerable. I wouldn't put it past them to try and take you hostage in exchange for information on Tasha."

"You know, if we hadn't taken her in so much, we wouldn't have so many restrictions in our lives," Brenda said with annoyance.

"Wait, so you don't want us to protect her?" I asked angrily.

"Of course I do," she said. "But now our family is under surveillance because of her. Brianne has muggle-born friends too, and yet they're not after us because of that. It's because Tasha was here all the time."

"Our family would have been under surveillance either way," dad told her. "We're a family of blood traitors, and Tasha is just an excuse. If Barry weren't friends with her, we'd still be in this situation because they know we'll help anyone out. We helped Brianne's friends as well, after all."

"It's fine," Ben said. "I don't want to play outside by myself anyway, and I'm glad Tasha is okay. I can spend this year getting ready for my first year."

"That's not the point," Brenda said with frustration.

"Enough, Brenda!" Mum barked. "It's worth it if we can save lives, and I would think you'd realize that by now. I don't want to hear another word about it!"

Brenda sent me a glare, but she didn't say anything else. She just let out a long sigh and then got up and left the room. I glared after her. She wouldn't be complaining if we were doing it for Kendra. I turned to Ben once she was gone.

"Let's go outside mate," I told him. "We might as well enjoy it while we can."

"Don't be out long," mum said. "And don't forget how to do the Patronus please."

"I still don't know how to do it," I said as I got up. "It's still just a wisp of nothing."

We'd been practicing all summer so far, but none of us had managed to do it yet. I thought I'd seen some resemblance to something the last time I'd tried it. It looked winged, but I couldn't identify what it was.

"Sometimes under threat, a person can do it, but just shout for us," mum told me. "I would like for all three of you to keep practicing though."

"Maybe that's what we can do outside," Ben told me as we left. "Just keep practicing, and maybe you'll finally do it."

Brianne decided to join us outside as well, and that's what we chose to do in the end. It was another foggy day, so we just stayed on the deck. I'd already tried to use my first Hogwarts letter as my happiest memory, but it hadn't worked. Maybe I could use my prefect badge as one of my favourite memories.

"Expecto Patronum!" I said as I thought about seeing my prefect badge sliding out of the envelope.

Once again, all that came out of my wand was just wispy smoke. Beside me, Brianne was having the same problem. I didn't think I was ever going to learn the lousy spell. I sighed and then sat down in a chair wracking my brains for another memory.

"Maybe it only works on real Dementors," Brianne said.

"Look!" Ben said pointing as a grey owl flew over to us. "I wonder who would be writing? No one ever writes anymore."

I wondered that as well. These days, it was far too risky to write anyone, so to see an owl was actually rare. It flew straight over to me, and instantly, I knew what it was as soon as I saw the official Ministry logo. It was my OWL results.

"It's my OWL results!" I told them excitedly, and I opened the envelope quickly and pulled out an official looking letter.

 _Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_

 _Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)_

 _Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)_

 _Acceptable (A) Troll (T)_

 _BARRY RICHARD HOOFER HAS ACHIEVED:_

 _Ancient Runes: (O)_

 _Arithmancy (E)_

 _Astronomy (E)_

 _Charms (E)_

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts: (E)_

 _Divination: (P)_

 _Herbology: (A)_

 _History of Magic: (A)_

 _Potions: (O)_

 _Transfiguration: (O)_

"Well, how did you do?" Brianne asked.

"I just failed one class," I answered. "I did better than I thought I would."

And I handed her my grades. Ben moved closer so he too could look at it.

"Three O's!" Brianne said as she read through it. "You did really well. Are you keeping them all."

"At least now you can't keep Divination," Ben said. "You failed, so it was useless for you to even take it. I told you that all along."

"Well, good for you," I said annoyed. "But I don't plan to keep History of Magic. I did well in it, but I don't believe I'll need it beyond fifth year. I'm not so sure about Defense Against the Dark Arts or Herbology either."

"You should keep your options open," Ben said. "Aren't those the core classes?"

"Yes, but when has Defense Against the Dark Arts ever been useful at Hogwarts? I'm surprised I got an E in it considering the education I've had in it. I'll make up my mind once I get to school. I should go in and show mum and dad."

Taking the letter from Brianne, I went back into the house. At least there was some good news out of all the bad news we'd been getting lately.


	45. Sixth Year Part One

September first was an overcast and chilly day. Once again, mum and dad didn't bother with the car. They had Garth come over to watch over both Ben and Noah while the rest of when to Kings Cross Station. I knew Ben was upset that he couldn't see us off that year, but he didn't complain. He just gave us hugs before we left for Kings Cross.

Our parents quickly hugged us all before they sent us on the train. It felt odd for me to be going to the Prefects carriage without Tasha. It was strange not having her with me at all. She was my very first friend at Hogwarts, and I'd have to go without her. I'd thought with her gone, she wouldn't be on my mind all the time, but she was on my mind more.

I entered the Prefects carriage and gazed around to see that not too many people had arrived yet. Brenda had been made Prefect as well, but she told me she'd meet me after she spoke to a couple of people. So far, only a couple of fifth years I didn't know were sitting in the carriage. I took a seat near the window and gazed out it.

More people arrived over time, but it was a lot more subdued that time, and I couldn't help but notice some faces were missing. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger weren't there. I didn't even notice that until I heard Pansy Parkinson comment on it. She was smirking as she leaned against Draco Malfoy who didn't look too happy. I thought for sure he would be, but I thought he looked as ill as he had last year.

I wondered who the Head Girl and Boy were. I was sure if Hermione were there, she would have been made Head Girl that year, and I felt sad for her. She was missing out on that opportunity because she wasn't allowed admission at Hogwarts anymore. Though I doubted she would have returned as I imagined she was with Harry Potter somewhere. Ron Weasley was apparently sick.

It turned out Padma Patil was Head Girl, and Ernie MacMillan was the Head Boy. I was glad they were a lot friendlier than the Head Boy from the year before. Both took it in turns reading from the list, and they were more upbeat which was a relief considering the times. Ernie even threw in a few jokes.

"So those are your assignments," Padma said. "Just remember to patrol once and a while, and fifth-year prefects will lead the first years to their Houses. Any questions?"

No one said anything, so we were dismissed. I left the compartment and began my patrol feeling lonely without Tasha. I was supposed to patrol the middle of the train that year. It wasn't as if they had anything to worry about though. All the students were quiet in each compartment I peered into.

I cut my patrol short when I found the compartment the sixth year Ravenclaws had chosen.

"Anything new?" Nick asked as I took a seat.

"Not really, just the same old Prefect stuff," I said gazing around the compartment.

Philip and Darren were there, but Ivan and Kevin weren't, and neither was Luna, but she never sat with us anyway. Gretchen, Samaira, and Katrina were there as well. The compartment felt oddly empty though, and I was sure it was because I knew that Kevin, Ivan, and Tasha were all in hiding.

"Well, you'll never guess what we just heard," Philip told me. "Apparently Snape is our new Headmaster."

"What?" I asked. "You're taking a piss, right?"

"No," Nick said shaking his head. "It's in the Daily Prophet. Luna just told us when we were looking for seats. She's with Neville and Ginny right now. They're talking about rebelling already."

"The DA?" I asked.

"Possibly," Philip answered. "I still can't believe you were unofficial members, but you never joined."

"We were scared of getting our parents in trouble at the Ministry," Nick said. "But if they're doing it again, I'm definitely joining for real. They didn't specifically mention it though. They just said that we weren't going to lay down and take it from Snape."

"Yeah well that's because people were listening in," Darren said. "But I bet that's what they're doing."

"Well, I'm in as well," I said. "Especially if it's true that Snape is Headmaster."

"They have Death Eaters teaching there too apparently," Samaira said. "I think Neville said it was the Carrows."

"Carrows?" I asked.

The name sounded really familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd heard of them before.

"Yeah brother and sister apparently," Katrina said. "I wish I had the Daily Prophet, but mum and dad stopped getting it."

"We would have left before it delivered, but mum and dad would know-" and I paused.

I'd promised mum and dad that the chalkboard would be a secret, but that was two years ago, and this was important. Everyone in the compartment was on our side, and besides, dad had charmed my new trunk so that no one could get into it. It was a different one from my old one anyway. It had secret compartments depending on how I turned the key. I knew it had been expensive, but my parents had splurged because of how upset I'd been. So I felt that the chalkboard was safe either way.

I got up and looked up into the luggage rack looking around for my trunk. Nick brought it into the compartment for me while I'd gone to the meeting. I found it above the seat we were sitting on, so I climbed in the seat while the others asked what I was doing. It was hard opening my trunk, but I finally found where I'd put.

"What is that?" Gretchen asked as I climbed back down.

"I've seen that before I think," Philip said when I sat back down. "I've seen you read it or write on it. What's it for?"

"I probably shouldn't be showing this to you lot, but we're all on the same side now," I said. "It's how I communicate with mum and dad when it's really important things. It has the Protean Charm on it. I write on it, and they get the message. All they have to do is erase the message and write a new one."

"Well, make sure you don't show that thing off," Darren said. "They'd want it for sure if they knew. Don't tell anyone but us."

"The Death Eaters found it in my trunk, but they must not have been suspicious of it," I said. "They had to have seen my DA coin too, but they left it. I'm sure the Death Eaters must know about it now."

"But they also know you have a rich family, and you usually keep a sack of gold in your trunk anyway," Nick responded. "They probably thought it was a loose Galleon. I had mine in my pocket, thankfully. They might have found it suspicious, we're not poor, but we're definitely not well off."

"Wait," Samaira began with wide eyes, "the Death Eaters went to your homes? Why?"

"Tasha," Nick and I answered at the same time.

"They went to our places looking for Kevin and Ivan as well," Philip said. "They probably searched any house connected to Muggle-borns. When they came to our house, they told us they didn't want to harm them. Said they just wanted to talk to them. We all knew that was a lie."

"So are you going to ask your parents about the Carrows?" Darren asked me as I began scribbling on the chalkboard. I nodded as I continued to write. "And about Snape as well. They must have read the Daily Prophet by now."

It wasn't long before a new message appeared confirming that Snape was indeed our new Headmaster and that the Carrows were also Death Eaters. They were going to be teaching Muggle Studies and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was relieved that I wasn't taking either subject. There couldn't be any good with them teaching those subjects. I read aloud what mum and dad had written.

"Muggle Studies?" Gretchen asked. "Well, I guess I'm dropping it then. Death Eaters teaching Defense and Muggle Studies? I think we should all drop those courses this year."

We all nodded in agreement, but I felt some dread. I had a feeling that the Hogwarts I knew and loved was gone.

* * *

I stayed behind to supervise, but later on, when I approached the castle, it was to see that we were being searched again. I hoped they wouldn't take issue with my trunk, but surely I couldn't be the only person who had that trunk. Undoubtedly other students would as well. I was surprised to see Filch was still employed as Squibs were usually frowned upon by blood purists as well. I decided Snape kept him around since he enjoyed punishing students.

He gave me a few extra hard jabs with his secrecy sensor before I was allowed to go in. When I entered the Great Hall, it was to find it very quiet for the first time in memory on the first day. People were whispering together, but there were no excited shouts to each other. Everyone seemed rather nervous. As I made my way up the Ravenclaw table, I thought it looked kind of empty as well. How many people had left or been killed?

I found the Sixth Years all sitting together in the middle. I took a seat beside Nick.

"I'm not used to it being so quiet it in here," I said.

"We were just trying to get information from Luna, but she's not saying much," Philip said.

"Not here," Luna told him before she turned to face where the First Years would appear soon.

When they did appear, we noticed something odd right away. It wasn't just the tiny students entering the Great Hall behind McGonagall, but there were older kids as well. Had Padma or Ernie mentioned this? I nudged Nick who looked at me and shrugged.

"Must be the kids who haven't been here before," he whispered to me. "Remember, it's mandatory for everyone. A lot of those kids were homeschooled, or sent abroad or something."

I nodded. That made sense and I guessed they had to enter Hogwarts the same way as any student usually did. I wondered if any of them were Sixth Years. I felt terrible for them at any rate. They were forced to come to a school where they didn't know anyone, and everyone already had their friends. I knew it had to be awkward and nerve-wracking, especially if they'd never been away from home before. It had been hard enough at eleven, but at sixteen?

The Sorting Hat sang the usual song, and as it did the last two years, it sang about how crucial it was for everyone to unite. As it did so, I scanned the teacher's table and felt a wave of fury as I saw Snape sitting in Dumbledore's old spot. He had no right to sit in the place of the man he'd murdered!

I located the small man and woman who were apparently supposed to be our new teachers. At least I wouldn't have to sit through their classes. I usually tried not to be rude about people's appearances, not unless they deserved but neither were very attractive at all, and the sister looked more like her brother. None of the teachers seemed too happy. I knew they must have been angry about the new staff appointments.

I glanced back at the new students who McGonagall was calling up. Just how many of their classmates had been imprisoned just for being Muggle-born? The students in the older years likely had friends helping them out, but what about the eleven-year-olds who thought they were going to Hogwarts, only to be interrogated about where they got their magic from? The whole thing made me feel sick to my stomach. Really, a lot these kids were Ben's age, even if his birthday was at the end of September.

There was a lot more hissing than usual when new students were sorted into Slytherin, even from my year and I wanted to tell them off. For all we knew, the new first years were vulnerable and scared. It wasn't right to assume they were bad kids just because of where they were sorted. I kept my mouth shut though; I would talk to them later. There was no point in arguing with anyone at the moment.

The older kids were sorted in all four houses, and I couldn't help but wonder about the ones sorted into Ravenclaw. The tall dark-haired bloke I thought could be either sixth or seventh year. Would he resent the fact that he had to be there? What about the other kids.

Once all the new students were sorted, Professor Snape stood up, and I had to hold in the urge to boo at him.

"Welcome back everyone," he began. "Before we eat, I'd like to introduce Professor Alecto Carrow as your new Muggle Studies teacher, and Professor Amycus Carrow who take over the post of the Dark Arts post. Both classes are now mandatory-" as he said this, the Great Hall finally broke out into shouts. "SILENCE!" Snape shouted. Everyone fell silent, but they all gave him resentful looks. "As I was saying, they are now mandatory, Defense Against the Dark Arts, now the Darks Arts has always been mandatory for those in Fifth year and younger. It is mandatory for Sixth and Seventh years as well, and there will be no complaints! Our new teachers will also be in charge of any disciplinary measures. If you misbehave, you'll report to them. As most as you know, I am Professor Severus Snape and I am your new Headmaster-"

"BOOO!"

"And Seamus Finnigan will be the first to report to Amycus Carrow after the feast tonight. Fifty points from Gryffindor, already. You'll soon learn that the way things have been around here will change immediately. None of the tomfooleries that has happened in the past will be tolerated. All secret passageways in and out of the castle have been blocked, and you'd be unwise to use them. You are here to learn the Art of magic and strengthen your skills and abilities. There is no need for any of the other nonsense. All items from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes are banned-"

And on he continued. Around me, there were so many angry faces. He was going to make Umbridge look like child's play, and as he continued to lecture us, it seemed he was even going to try and introduce some of her decrees back. By the time he was done, I'd lost my appetite. I wanted to go home and go into hiding. I would stay for another year at Hogwarts if it meant I didn't have to face this year. I'd stay well into my twenties if I had to.

Finally, he was done, and we were finally allowed to eat. Around me, people were picking at their food. Usually, the first of the feast was for catching up with each other and happily eating until we were so full, we felt we'd burst. I missed Tasha as well. She should have been in the seat beside me, and Kevin and Ivan should have been across from us.

No one really spoke, and I had a feeling that it was going to be like this every day in the Great Hall.

* * *

The next morning, the Sixth Years had to stay behind while Professor Flitwick checked off all the classes they wanted to keep. I wasn't impressed that I had to have two classes I didn't even want added to my schedule. I hadn't taken Muggle Studies back in Third year, and so I shouldn't have been able to have it in NEWT level.

I didn't protest because I knew it wasn't Flitwick's fault, so I kept quiet while he made my new schedule sans Astronomy, History of Magic, Herbology, and Divination.

"Are you quite sure you don't want to keep Herbology?" Professor Flitwick asked. "It is beneficial in Potions."

"I understand the ingredients well enough, and anything else I need to know, I'll look it up," I told him. "I'm not interested in working with plants any longer than I need to."

"If you change your mind, we can surely work it into your schedule," he told me, but I shook my head.

I knew enough which plants worked in Potions, and I could look them up in the library if I had to. I didn't think I needed to work with the Venomous Tentacula to know its uses in Potions. I'd rather work with it in ingredient form instead of when it could attack me.

Our first class, unfortunately, was Muggle Studies. I'd been hoping to have a free period right away so we could talk to Luna, but we all had to make our way to a class none of us wanted or should have had. I stared down moodily at my shoes while the Sixth Years around me shouted out the injustice of it.

When we entered the classroom, it was to find it full of Sixth Years from other houses. Usually, when we shared a class, it was with one other class. Though I knew in the Sixth Year, all of us Sixth years would be taught together, but the difference was, not everyone would be there. There were many classes people wouldn't continue in. Every single Sixth Year was there, including the new Ravenclaw bloke. He'd taken over Kevin's bed, but he hadn't talked to any of us. Nick and I took seats at the back.

Alecto Carrow wasn't there yet. Some people were milling around, and I wondered if there would even be enough seats for everyone. The only ones who weren't complaining were some of the Slytherin's. In normal circumstances, I was sure they'd be angry to be mandated in this class, but they all knew exactly what this class was about.

"Look at Harper, the slimy git!" Nick said to me.

Harper was sitting on a desk and smirking while talking to his mates. I glared over them hatefully as the stocky little woman entered the room.

"Sit down, sit down," Carrow said as she looked around the classroom. "There should be enough seats for everyone."

There were so many stony faces around the room except a select few. Harper even greeted her, and it made me want to throw my inkwell at the back of his head as he sat a few seats ahead of me.

"Now, some of you have been in this class for the past five years," Carrow said as she made her way to the front. "And I have a lot of brainwashing to erase."

Most like you are here to brainwash us, I thought to myself.

She walked over to the chalkboard and wrote in big letters: _MUGGLE STUDIES. -The myths and facts._ She then proceeded to write that muggles were not friendly at all, and that was just a myth. By the time she was done, the board was full of writing about how they were just dirty animals who needed to be eliminated.

"Well?" She asked when she realized that most people weren't writing it down. "Write that down, now! Anyone found disobeying will regret it immediately!"

I still didn't reach for my quill, even as she began making her way around the classroom. She paused by Ginny Weasley's desk and peered down at her parchment. She suddenly slammed her fist down on Ginny's desk hard, and then pulled out her wand.

"Do you really want to be the first to learn what happens? Or didn't you see Seamus Finnegan last night?" She asked. "WRITE IT DOWN NOW!"

She slammed her fist down again which caused Ginny's inkwell to upset, and ink spilled all over the desk. Ginny stared up at her in such a hatred that if looks could kill, Carrow would be dead on the spot.

"You'll clean that up immediately, and then you'll start writing," Carrow told her.

Ginny's nose flared as she let out a breath. Everyone watched, all wondering what Ginny would do. To my dismay, she pulled out her wand and began siphoning the ink off her desk, even though she kept her hateful glare on Alecto. Once she was done cleaning, she reached for her quill and then began writing. I figured it had to be for show since she didn't want to push them too far.

After a few moments, everyone else began following her example, though I did wonder what the exact plan was. We couldn't always take it from the Carrows.

* * *

I didn't get the chance to talk to Ginny and Luna until later that day. Nick and I found them talking in low voices in the nearly empty courtyard, so we went over to them.

"What was that about?" Nick asked Ginny. "We can't just let her get away with any of that."

"I know," Ginny answered. "It nearly killed me to do it, but we need to be cautious about it. We need to stand up to them when we can, but we need to be careful. They beat Seamus up last night. She was going to make an example of me, and we promised we wouldn't let that happen yet."

"Yet?" I asked.

"We- look, Hermione and Luna told me you two were unofficial members of the DA two years ago," Ginny began in a low voice as she looked around. "How would you two like to be official members?"

"We were hoping you were going to bring that up," I said. "We wanted to talk to you since yesterday, but then today you did as Carrow said."

"And I hated doing it," Ginny said. "Neville, Luna, and I want to get it started again. We are going to invite the old members back, including you two, but we need new members as well. If you two could recruit for us, I know you have two sisters, Barry. If you talk to the other Ravenclaw Sixth years, we'd appreciate it. We need to plan and strategize exactly how we are going to do this. We can't get beaten up for the sake of being beaten up though. It would have almost been worth it, so I didn't have to write that filth down, but we need to know how far they are willing to go."

"When?" Nick asked. "I'm all for it."

"We were thinking Sunday afternoon," Luna said. "Usually, we try to meet on weekdays, but we want to get as many people the first meeting as we can. After that, we can decide on weeknights."

"I'll talk to Brianne and Brenda, but I can't make any promises about Brenda, but I'll talk to her about it," I said.

"Are you sure that's wise mate?" Nick asked.

"She won't rat us out about this," I said defensively. "It's not just detention anymore, is it? But who do we know to trust? I'm very sure we can trust the Ravenclaw Sixth Years," and I looked to Luna who nodded, "but who else? Are we going to jinx a piece of parchment this time?"

"We'll need to think of that too," Ginny said. "For now, we'll just talk to those we know we can trust. Neville said after a while, maybe we can write on the walls that the DA is still recruiting and see what happens from there. If you don't know someone too well, it's probably best you don't ask them."

"We'll also need to make more of these coins," Nick said as he pulled out a coin from his pocket.

"I think I can do it," I said as I took out my own. "I've been reading a lot about the Protean Charm. I was hoping I could make something for Tasha for us to communicate, but there wasn't enough time, and I didn't get the chance to ask my parents."

"But she'll still have her coin, won't she?" Luna asked. "You can probably use it sometimes to communicate with her. We all can."

"We're hoping that Ron, Hermione, and Harry have theirs on them," Ginny continued. "Then maybe they can contact us as well. We thought maybe we'd talk to Ernie, but maybe you can look into it, Barry, or maybe you and Ernie can work on it together. We may need several of you to work together on stronger spells. They can't find out what we're doing at first or how we're meeting."

"But everyone knows you were meeting in the Room of Requirement two years ago," Nick pointed out.

"I know," Ginny said. "It's why we need to be very careful, but the room can't be accessed if we really don't want it to be. Neville is working on that right now. After dinner, Sunday night if you can please. We'll go from there. We have to schedule different days so that no one can guess what we are doing."

I wasn't sure right away about talking to Brenda, but something happened a couple of days later that made me change my mind. We had our first Dark Arts class, and right away, we could out exactly what it entailed. They wanted us to actually learn some of the illegal curses, such as the Cruciatus Curse.

There were some students in our class who weren't Sixth Years when we entered. One of them was my sister, Brenda. Amycus Carrow had them all lined up at the front, and I was confused as to why. I was very sure that Brenda was supposed to be in her Transfiguration class at the moment, so why was she in our class?

I didn't have to wonder for how long.

"All of these children have misbehaved," Carrow told us as he paced back and forth in front of them. "And they must learn to behave. Their punishment is to be practice dummies for you lot."

Everyone began exchanging looks of horror. I thought even Harper didn't seem too impressed by this, but he changed his expression quickly. Amycus Carrow was stocky and unpleasant looking, just like his sister. His tiny eyes fell on me, and he began to giggle.

"And looky here," he said as he walked over to me. "You're supposed to be one of the best in your year. You can be the first to demonstrate, and I know the perfect student for you to practice on."

He reached out to grab Brenda's arm, and she shrieked in disgust.

"Don't touch my sister!" I snarled.

"Of course, of course," Amycus let out a wheezy giggle. "You'll be the one to dole out punishment Mr. Hoofer. Now come forward, and practice the Cruciatus Curse on your sister. The incantation is Crucio."

"No," I stated firmly. "I will not be doing that to my sister or anyone else here."

Amycus pulled out a short wand from his robe pocket and pointed it to me, but I didn't budge.

"If you don't do it, you'll feel the curse yourself," he told me.

"No," I repeated. "I'm not torturing my sister."

"As you'll all notice, Mr. Hoofer here is being defiant. You're all about to learn what defiance will bring you!"

"NO!" Brenda shrieked. "No! Barry just do it, please!"

I shook my head and folded my arms. They were all mad if they thought I was going to do that to my little sister. Amycus flicked his wand and the next thing I knew, I felt as if I were being stabbed over and over again by thousands of knives all at once, or maybe like my entire body was on fire. I didn't even feel myself fall out of my desk. When the curse was lifted, I was laying on the floor. I curled up and began to shake.

"Are you ready to perform the curse?" Amycus asked from somewhere above while he giggled.

"No," I answered in a shaky voice, and I felt it happen again. This time it went on for longer. It felt more painful than the last time. I wished I could pass out, or die, or anything. It seemed as if he wanted to keep going, I could hear him giggling still, even if I wasn't aware of anything else.

"STOP IT!" I heard someone shout and there was a loud crash.

I lay on the floor shaking, but I looked up to see what had happened. Nick had jumped to his feet, and he'd done something. I was sure he'd stunned Amycus as he wasn't moving. Ignoring him, he rushed over to me and knelt down.

"Barry?" He asked as he held a hand out to me.

I took it and allowed him to help me up into a sitting position. Many of my classmates were surrounding me. Brenda rushed over to throw her arms around me. She was sobbing.

"Oh, you shouldn't have let him. You should have just done it! It wouldn't have hurt if you'd done it! You need to mean the curses, Barry!"

"I-don't-care," I managed to say. "I'm not torturing you."

"What did you hit him with?" Philip asked.

"Stunned him," Nick responded. "I'll probably pay for it later, but I don't care. He wasn't going to stop doing it."

"You'll be next," I said. "We can't let this go on."

"Let's just get you up," Nick told me as he helped me to my feet. "I'll worry about that later. I couldn't take it anymore," and he looked away. I thought I saw tears in his eyes, but I decided to ignore that. I felt touched, however. "Let's just go," he said as he helped me leave the classroom.

I knew it was very bad for us all to leave Amycus stunned in the classroom, but as the two of us began to move, the rest of our classmates began to follow. Brenda stayed close to my other side, and she was sniffling and wiping at her tears.

"That was so scary," she said as we continued. "Oh, you should have just done it. You wouldn't have been able to do it."

I just shook my head. We continued walking together to the Ravenclaw Tower. The two of them helped me up the stairs and up into the Common Room after answering the question. Thankfully it was empty, so we had the place to ourselves. I wasn't sure where the rest of my classmates went. We went over to sit at Nick's and Mine's usual table.

"This is why we have to do something," Nick said. "This can't go on."

And I turned to Brenda as I took a few deep breaths. I was still feeling slightly sore. I'd never been in so much pain before. Years ago when I was about ten, I'd been hit with a bludger while I was playing a game with my cousins. I would take that pain in my arm over the torture curse any day. I feared what Amycus would do to Nick when he woke up.

"Brenda, you know about the DA," I began. "Nick and I are members, and we're supposed to recruit people."

"Where do I sign up?" She asked without hesitation.

"We're having a meeting Sunday evening after dinner," I told her. "We're going to invite Brianne as well, and anyone we can think of. Do you think Kendra would come?"

"She's not here," Brenda told me. "Her family decided not to send her. I hope they've decided to go in hiding for their sake. The Death Eaters won't be too happy that she didn't come."

"I'm sure they have," I said, but I was hoping the same thing.

"I'm not too sure who to invite. I think I'll wait on that," Brenda said. "But after what I saw today, I want to fight back," she added looking determined. "They can't get away with that. Maybe we should tell mum and dad."

"But if mum and dad fight it; it might cause problems for our whole family," I said. "What did you do anyway? Why are you seen as a troublemaker?"

"I questioned that nasty woman about her views on Muggles," Brenda responded. "I told her that I'm doing my OWLs this year, and I'm only willing to learn useful information, and not rubbish. She wasn't too happy about that."

"I would expect not," I said. "I thought for sure Ginny would tell her off, but she didn't. It was hard for her not to. Ginny can be a spitfire, so I was surprised she did hold back."

"Well, I probably should have because if I had, this wouldn't have happened," Brenda said waving a hand at me.

"I wouldn't have tortured anyone," I told her. "One of the kids in there had to be a First Year!"

"He seemed quite amused that you would have to torture your sister though," Nick said. "Did you see him laughing about that? I bet he planned that the moment he saw your last names."

"You know he did," I said with a shrug. "But at least we know what they're about now, and during the DA meeting-"

"Nick Lawrence come up to the Headmasters office immediately!" A magnified voice echoed in the Common Room suddenly. I imagined it penetrated everywhere in the castle, however.

Nick glanced up apprehensively.

"Well, I'd better go," he said with a sigh. "It was great knowing both of you."

"Don't even joke about that!" Brenda scolded.

"Maybe I should come-" I began.

"No," Nick said firmly. "I shouldn't have stunned Carrow, and if I have to take the punishment for it, then I am taking it. You two either stay here or go to your next class. I am facing this on my own. The worst they'll probably do is but the Cruciatus curse on me."

"Mate, it hurts like hell," I warned him. "It's like being stabbed over and over again with thousands of knives and being on fire or something, and it's ongoing. My nerves are still on end from it."

"I know," Nick responded. "But I am the idiot who hexed the teacher. I could have stopped it another way, and now I have to face the consequences. They won't kill me."

I thought he was too confident about that. He was going to the Headmasters office after all, and Snape was up there. Brenda and I glanced at each other nervously as he walked off.

"Do you think we should wait for him?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said with a sigh. "I should really get to Transfiguration. Are you going to be okay? It really looked awful Barry. You're still really pale, and you went white when he was doing it!"

"I'm fine," I said. "My nerves are on end, but I'm not that sore anymore. I'm just going to wait for him outside the Ancient Runes classroom. There is a lot of time, and hopefully, I'll see Luna or someone."

Brenda nodded. She stood up, shot me one last worried look and then walked off. I stayed where I was for a moment before getting up. I was still feeling somewhat shaky, and I knew it seemed silly, but embarrassed as well. Every single one of my classmates had been there to see me tortured. I knew most of them must have been horrified, but I still couldn't shake that feeling.

After a few moments, I got up and headed to the door to leave. I wondered where the rest of my classmates had gone after they'd left the class, and who had brought Amycus back? Did someone rat Nick out, or had the man figured it out himself?

I didn't see anyone around until I neared the Ancient Runes classroom, and then I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see Ginny and Luna rushing over to me.

"Is it true?" Ginny asked. "Did Carrow torture you just because you wouldn't torture your sister?"

"Weren't you there?" I asked with confusion.

"No, we-" and then Luna and Ginny exchanged glances before they looked back at me. "Slughorn called us to his office. He was asking about Harry, Ron, and Hermione," she smirked a little bit, and I wondered why that was before she continued. "Slughorn has finally learned Ron's name, and he isn't even here. Anyway, he excused us from class, so we didn't see any of it. Philip just told us about it, and then we heard Nick get called to Snape's office. So Nick really stunned Carrow?"

I nodded.

"And I'm worried Snape is going to kill him or really hurt him," I responded. "We all know he doesn't care about killing people."

"We don't think they'll go that far," Ginny said. "They'll hurt us, but I don't think they want to kill magical kids… not the ones they find worthy anyway. They'll just do what they can to keep us in line. Snape let the Carrow's beat Seamus up, and that was it. I mean, he was in bad shape, and still kind of is, but I don't think they'll go further than that."

"Nick stunned a teacher though, all Seamus did was boo," I said. "It could be ten times worse."

"Tasha has her coin on her," Luna told me as she pulled out her own gold coin. "I sent her a message. I didn't tell her what happened to you, but I told her that you were worried. I know it's not private, but you can still talk to her sometimes. There is a message to you from her."

It was one of the things I liked about Luna, she always thought of others first. Immediately, I reached into my own pocket to pull mine out. I hadn't felt it burn, and I was surprised I hadn't. Perhaps it had happened while I was being tortured. I wondered how others would feel knowing that it wasn't an important message when it had burnt.

"Don't you need your wand to change the message?" I asked as I scanned through her very tiny but long message.

 _To Barry, and anyone else reading this, I am okay. Please take care of your yourselves. Keep me posted._

"I think you're protected by the Fidelius charm when it comes to that," Ginny said. "I don't know for sure of course. I think they must have made sure it was safe to do it, and she probably didn't use her own wand. Maybe they even went somewhere else to do it. I don't imagine that she would risk it if she weren't safe though."

"You're probably right about that," I said as I stashed it quickly back in my pocket. I thought I hear footsteps.

Luna hid hers as well just as Philip and Darren came around the corner. They walked straight over to us.

"Are you okay mate?" Darren asked. "That looked terrifying!"

"I'm more worried about Nick," I said with a sigh. "Who revived Carrow?"

The two boys glanced at each other and then shrugged.

"Everyone got out of there quickly," Philip said. "I think the kids in detention practically ran out of there," and then he looked at Ginny and Luna. "Anyway, we're in. We were already decided but after seeing that-" and he shuddered. "We're in for sure."

"We've had many people tell us that, but we must be careful about where we talk about it," Ginny said. "Anyone could be listening."

We glanced around, I didn't think there were any hidden doorways in that corridor, but I had to admit that even after being a Prefect for a year, I still didn't know where they all were. All the classroom doors were shut, but what if someone was hidden inside with an extendable ear. We began making our way to the Ancient Runes classroom. I couldn't wait for Sunday. I just hoped we could come up with a good plan to get through this year.

* * *

Nick didn't return until after dinner, and I was on edge waiting for him. I sat with my sisters, and the Sixth Year Ravenclaws in the Common Room. I'd barely eaten, and I could barely read through my homework. All I could think about was Nick and whether or not they were still brutally torturing him.

Finally, though, he entered the Common Room. We all stared at him in shock before I jumped up to rush over to him. They'd beaten him up, and it seemed they showed no mercy. He was limping as he made his way over to us. Both of his eyes were swollen, but one, it looked as if he could barely open it, his lip was bloody, and his nose didn't look right. It was hard to see where the rest of his injuries were as his robes covered the rest.

And yet, he grinned when I finally reached him.

"How can you be smiling?" I asked as I reached for one of his arms so I could help him walk.

"Best I can do at the moment mate," he responded.

Philip had rushed over as well to help him out. Around us, people were staring with their mouths open. The first and second years looked terrified. One little girl even started to cry. We helped him over to a couch, and then deposited him onto it.

"Were they doing this to you the whole time?" I demanded.

"Nah, they beat me up as soon I got there," Nick responded. "Had to sit there and listen to a lecture about stunning a teacher, and keeping in line. I had a hard time moving after that, and they wouldn't let me go to the Hospital Wing. Told me I need to take it like a man. I also have detentions for the next week," and then be grinned, or at least tried to but it was lopsided. "Don't worry; it's with the First Years. They won't be able to curse me. I don't care who they are; even if they're the kids of You-Know-Who, they won't be able to hurt me with crucio. It was Snape who made that decision. Not sure what he is playing at with that, but I'm certainly not complaining."

"It shouldn't have had to happen," I said feeling immense guilt as I took a seat next to him.

"My decision to do it, Barry," Nick answered.

"Well, let me at least fix you up a bit," Gretchen said she knelt in front of him. "I'd like to be a Healer, so I've been learning some Healing spells. I think I can do them all right."

"I can help as well," Luna said as she came forward.

"Thank you ladies," Nick said.

I didn't know how he could seem so happy about this. They'd beaten him to a pulp, and it was hard just looking at him. He'd taken a beating for me, and I would never forget that. Though we weren't related, he was my brother. He wasn't just my best friend anymore; he was my brother just as much as Ben was.

"Probably got worse than I shoulda anyway," Nick continued. "Amycus seemed quite gleeful to hit my face. Kept calling me a pretty boy, so I told him that jealousy was a bitch. Didn't like that at all, but I figure if I'm getting beaten up, I might as well make it worth it. Told him I got all the ladies, and it's true isn't? You're all willing to help me."

Gretchen just smiled at him as she focused on his cuts. Luna had her wand pointed at his nose. I wondered where she'd learned healing spells. The next second though, she had his nose fixed, and it looked the same as it had before it had been broken.

"You know, it's probably best if we do learn some healing spells," Brenda said as Brianne who looked ready to cry got up and walked off. She'd stared at him with an appalled look on her face when she spotted him. "They probably won't let us get healed properly, so in the future, we'll need to know how to help ourselves," Brenda continued.

"That's not a bad idea," Samaira said in a low voice. "Maybe we can suggest that to... well, maybe we can suggest it."

Brianne returned with a pitcher of water and a rag. She walked over to stand beside Luna and held it out to Nick.

"You might want to wipe off some of that blood too," she told him. "It's dried up all over your face and your hands. Didn't you at least stop by the bathroom on the way?"

"Barely made it back up here otherwise I woulda," Nick answered, and he took the pitcher and rag from her.

"Well just wait until we're done," Gretchen said. "Stop moving a moment, please. I'm not too confident with these spells yet, and I don't want to make you worse than you are."

By the time the girls were done, he looked loads better, but he still had some gashes on his face, and he still couldn't open his one eye. The girls were too scared to do much with it in case they made it worse. They both decided that it needed to heal on its own. Thankfully, once he had the blood wiped off, he didn't look as bad.

"I don't think I can do much else with your ankle either," Gretchen said before she looked to Luna who shook her head.

"I can fix small broken bones, but I think its sprained," Luna told her.

"It's okay, you two did a lot, and I feel better," Nick said.

I hated all three of them though. It took a lot for me to hate someone, but I honestly hated them to the point that I wanted to use the torture curse on them. I thought I hated Tasha's parents, but that wasn't even close to the hatred I felt for Snape and the Carrows.


	46. Sixth Year Part Two

I'd never been in the Room of Requirement before, but I knew where it was. We had to patrol outside a few times the year before, and while I'd been curious, I hadn't stepped foot into it. We were told to come only a few at a time after dinner as not to draw too much attention to what we were doing.

We wondered if Snape knew what we were planning as he'd put Umbridge's Decree about club meetings back up Friday afternoon. I figured he knew what we were planning, or else he was trying to stop anyone from reforming it again. We made sure to be very careful about talking about it after the Decree went up.

Ginny, Neville, and Luna decided each house should have spokesmen until everyone had a coin. Luna represented Ravenclaw, Ginny represented Gryffindor, and I wasn't sure yet who represented Hufflepuff, but I was assuming it was a Seventh Year. It was Luna who told us to arrive a few people at a time. Our Year mates let Nick, and I go first and then the other boys would come in five minutes, and then the girls in another five minutes.

"Wonder how it will look this time," Nick said as walked to where the entrance was. "Last time I was in there, it was a broom closet."

"You've been in there?" I asked looking at him with shock.

Thankfully, he was looking a lot better, though he was still limping. He could finally see out of his eye again, but it was still swollen. Gretchen and Luna had done a great job on the rest of his injuries. Amycus had made a nasty comment about how Nick wasn't looking so handsome these days, but Nick had a ready retort.

"At least I've been handsome in my lifetime," he'd quipped. "And at least I'm not nasty on the inside or the outside."

Amycus had looked ready to jinx him, but for some reason, he'd refrained from it. Instead, he'd given him another day of detention.

"I'm surprised you haven't," Nick said. "All those times you were snogging Romilda last year, and you never brought her in here? What a waste of a badge."

"Because I got this badge to snog girls," I laughed.

Nick grinned and then began pacing back in forth a few times. After the third time, a door appeared. I felt excited as I reached forward to open it. I had to admit, Nick was right, I could have come in here at any time, and not just for Romilda. I just hadn't because it felt wrong with me being a Prefect. It'd been bad enough that I'd slacked off on my duties.

Inside was a great room, maybe the size of the Great Hall and with a domed ceiling. Several people were already there; all camped out on some cushions. I believed they were mainly Seventh Years as I recognized the Seventh Years Prefects. Nick and I walked over to them slowly, as he was still limping.

"Looks like they took it easy on you Nicky," a boy who was sitting on a blue cushion said.

He didn't look too well either, he was covered in bruises, and there was a huge gash right on his head. He was sitting beside Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley.

"The girls took care of me," Nick said as he lowered himself to a black cushion. "I was a lot worse, but it was worth it."

"And you're the one they tortured?" The boy asked as I joined them, picking a white cushion.

I nodded.

"They wanted me to torture my little sister," I explained. "I wouldn't do it. So he tortured me, but I would do it again if I had to, no matter how horrible it was."

"Don't blame ya," the boy said. "I'm Seamus Finnigan, and I'm assuming you're Barry Hoofer. Nick has talked about you for years, but he's never introduced us."

Nick just shrugged. I often wondered why the two of them weren't closer as they'd known each other since they were young kids. Perhaps it was the year and House difference.

"To be honest, I'm a bit jealous Nick," Seamus continued. "Here you are getting beaten up for stupid heroics, and I got it because I booed. Should have been the other way around. I'm the Gryffindor after all."

"Oh I'm sure you'd do it in a second, and I'm willing to bet you'll get beaten up for stupid heroics eventually," Nick told him as he grinned over at him. "That's the whole point to this group, isn't it?"

"Possibly, but these two have been quite tight-lipped about what we're doing," Seamus said as he nodded over at Ginny and Neville.

"We'll wait until the others get here," Ginny answered. "It's not just about standing up to Snape and the Carrow's. We also need to see if you and Ernie can make us more coins Barry."

"Heard you're like the Hermione Granger of your year," Neville said to me, and I shook my head.

"Not even close," I answered quickly. "I get good grades, but Hermione is amazing. I've always been amazed by her intelligence. I think maybe my little brother would be close to her level, but it's hard to say. I think I understand the Protean Charm, and we'd have to perform the Gemino curse on them as well. We just have to make sure the new coins can connect to the spell already on them."

Ernie, who was sitting beside Hannah Abbott began putting his input in as well. While we talked, more people started to join us. Luna came in with the girls, and greeted everyone happily. It took close to an hour before Neville decided that everyone was there. It was mostly kids in fifth year and older, but there were a few younger kids as well, such as my sister and her friends.

Once everyone was seated, Neville, Ginny, and Luna stood up and faced everyone.

"Well, I'm sure you all have an idea of what we are all doing here," Ginny began. "We'd like to start the DA back up, but this time it's a lot more serious than it was when Umbridge was here. We have a lot more at stake than expulsion."

Zacharias Smith waved his hand in the air.

"And how do we know everyone in here is trustworthy?" He called out. "Only look what happened last time. Are we signing another jinxed parchment or what?"

Ginny, Luna, and Neville glanced at each other.

"We're still trying to work that one out Smith," Ginny told him. "But everyone here knows what is at stake by participating in this group."

"I don't want to participate if someone could rat us out at any given moment," Smith responded.

While he was a very outspoken boy, I felt that he had a good point. The Carrows or Snape could convince someone that they won't be in trouble if they sell out the others. While it wasn't right to suspect everyone, it was hard not to given the times. I raised my hand to point out that he did have a good point. Around me, others were nodding in agreement.

"Tell them about the pinky promise," Nick muttered to me. "It's not a permanent solution, but it can work until we come up with a better reason."

I hesitated before I raised my hand again. I began telling the story of how we'd all been unofficial members and how Hermione had linked all of us together just to be safe.

"I mean, we should think of a better way to make sure no one does rat, but it would work temporarily until we do," I said.

"I never knew the pinky promise could be that effective," Neville said with a frown. "I always thought it was just a myth, or a simple spell."

"But that still doesn't help us in the long run," Ernie pointed out. "It's not a bad idea, but we won't know who told. We'll just all know that someone did tell. I suppose it helps us prepare, but I'd like to know who the snitch is."

"Well, I think, for now, we might try that," Ginny said slowly. "But I do agree that we need to think of a better way to keep this a secret. Perhaps we could just do the same as Hermione did. I just don't know how she did it, so if anyone if here could figure that out-"

"Do you think the spell is still on us?" Nick asked turning to me. "We've never told anyone, and maybe that spell is still on the people who signed that parchment. Did Hermione ever say if it wore off?"

"I'm not sure," Ginny said. "We'll start researching ways to keep it secret. For now, we'll start with the pinky promise, but we need a better way. Ernie is right; we need to know who the snitch is so that we don't have a spy in here. I'm going to set Ernie, Barry, Terry, and Luna on that task. At the end of the meeting, we'll pinky promise until we come up with a better way."

"Now, we need to discuss what these meetings are about," Neville continued. "The three of us talked about it, and I think we should pick up where Harry left off, but we need to learn to duel. All three of us fought in the Ministry, and at the Astronomy tower last year. It was hard keeping up with them because they're more experienced. So while we are learning new spells, we are also going to learn to duel."

"We also want to rebel against the Carrows, but we don't want to get caught," Ginny said. "We think standing up to them is good, but we don't want another Seamus or Nick situation. We can't hex them or be unnecessarily rude," and she paused for a moment. "And I also think we should have an age limit for the DA. I'm not too sure about allowing first and second years in. I think we're pushing it with the third years."

"I disagree," Luna suddenly spoke up. She'd been quiet up until that moment. "I think everyone should have the chance to defend themselves."

"I agree with Luna," I said without raising my hand this time. "If my brother hadn't missed the September first cut off date, he'd be in the first year. We're in here learning to defend ourselves, and I would want him to know how to defend himself. Not all of us will always be around to look after them. I also know that more than half the people in this room would want to join the DA if they were in their first and second year. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been fighting since their first year."

Neville let out a sigh.

"Look, the three of us believe that Harry is going to return, and that means there is going to be a fight," he said. "I don't feel comfortable sending the first years to battle grown adults."

"But who says we have to?" A pretty Seventh Year Gryffindor girl (who I thought might have been Lavender) said. "If Harry does return we can make an age limit for who should be part of that fight. I don't agree with sending first years to battle either, but Luna and Barry are right. They should be able to defend themselves. The DA should be open to everyone, and I think it's the way Harry would want it."

"We can have certain tasks for each age group," a fifth-year girl spoke up.

Ginny and Neville glanced at each other. I was surprised Ginny seemed against it considering all that she'd been through, or even Neville. I could understand they didn't want to see the younger kids get hurt, but times were different now. I'd heard stories already about people hexing others randomly in the corridors. We were leaving the first and second years helpless if they didn't know how to duel or defend themselves.

I said this while the two looked at each other.

"There is truth in that," Neville finally said. "We'll include them, but they aren't allowed to fight if Harry turns up. We'll teach them to defend themselves, and maybe we'll include them in our other activities. Harry would likely be leading the DA if we were still first years after all."

"So these meetings will be us learning to duel, and coming up with ways to annoy the Carrows?" Someone else asked. "I thought we'd be doing more."

"And we will be," Ginny said. "This first meeting is just to go over ideas. We'll start setting tasks to individual groups. Once we know we are secured against spies; we'll start recruiting more members. We have people on the outside who want to help us out as well. Fred and George have promised to send us what we need disguised. They still have their coins, so they might contact us as well."

By the end of the meeting, I was tasked with not only research on how to make new DA coins, to find out how we can make the DA more secure, and to look out for the younger years who may want to join. I'd been expecting to participate, and learn new spells, and that was it. How had I been given the reputation of some smart bloke? I honestly had no idea how to make the group more secure, and I suddenly felt like I was under a lot of pressure. What if I let these people down?

* * *

When we entered Potions class the following week, it was to find that he'd brewed several different potions already. I'd heard he'd done something similar the year before, but last week, all we'd spent the lesson just going over what to expect in NEWT level. Our class was much smaller than the year before. Not too many Sixth Years had kept it. I'd been surprised that Gretchen had considering that she'd struggled with it the year before. I knew her dream was to be a Healer though, so she must have worked hard last year.

Nick and I chose seats close to a gold coloured cauldron with a potion that a mother of pearl sheen to it, which he automatically identified as a love potion.

"How do you know that?" I asked with surprise.

"It's in our Potions textbooks," he told me. "I would have thought you of all people would have read through it. I just recognize it because I can smell all my favourite scents. I remember reading that is how it smells to each person. I bet you can smell a certain young lady who isn't here."

Indeed he was right, I could smell her favourite scent, which was lilacs, but I could also smell cinnamon, which was a scent mum used around the house, the smell fresh new books gave off, and chlorine. I'd never realized I like the smell of chlorine before, but I did love the pool in the summers, so it made sense.

"I'm guessing your house is one of my favourite places to be," Nick continued. "I can smell cinnamon, pine needles, that smell after it just rained, and is that… apple dish soap? Odd."

I snorted when he mentioned the apple dish soap and I wondered the story behind that one. Nick seemed to find it strange as well though.

"What do you smell?" He asked just as Slughorn entered the classroom, so I couldn't answer.

He wasn't nearly as cheerful as he had been the year before, but he still had his moments. He was grinning today as he made his way to the front. I didn't know if it was possible, but it seemed he'd grown even more since just last summer. I wondered if he smelled different foods in the love potion. I whispered this to Nick who snickered.

"Maybe McDonald's," he whispered back which left me confused.

"McDonald's? You mean like the McDonald twins?" I asked which caused him to snort even louder.

The McDonald twins were a pair of twin boys in Brenda's year, so I found this to be a bizarre comment. They were very smart, however, and they'd been part of the Slug Club the year before as well. I'd never talked to them though, so I didn't know too much about them.

"Settle down, settle down," Slughorn said with a smile over at Nick.

He began the class by letting us know that he'd prepared some potions for us to see what we'd be making in class, but also to see if we could identify them. Nick's hand shot up right away when Slughorn paused by the love potion to ask if we knew what it was. Slughorn looked a little surprised since Nick rarely offered answers in this class.

"Yes, Mr. Lorry?" He asked.

"It's Lawrence, and it's a love potion," Nick responded.

"Yes, but can you identify which love potion?" Slughorn asked.

Nick shrugged, so Slughorn began looking around the room to see if anyone else knew. However, no one raised their hands. I found it irresponsible that he was teaching us how to make something that was banned. It was bad enough that people could get them from the joke shop, and now we were being taught how to make it.

"It's Amortentia, and it's one of the most powerful love potions in the world," Slughorn said. "Could you tell me how you knew it was a love potion, Mr. Lawrence?"

"Because to each person, they can smell what attracts them the most," Nick responded. "Barry and I wondered what it was that you could smell, sir?"

"Perhaps later young man," Slughorn said with a grin before continuing on to explain the effects of Amortentia.

He then continued to let us guess what was in each cauldron. I correctly guessed the Veritaserum since I'd seen it before. Often dad brewed potions in his spare time, and as a young boy, he'd shown it to me. I'd asked to try it out, and at first, dad wasn't comfortable letting me. It was supposed to make a person speak honestly about anything. After some begging, he finally let me try a small sip. I began confessing to things, such as I was the one who often hid dad's socks to prank him. Dad felt guilty though, and he gave me an antidote even though I thought it was funny.

I could understand now why he hadn't wanted to give it to his eight-year-old son, however.

The potions were interesting, but no one grew excited until Gretchen guessed the last potion, which was a lucky potion. Apparently, just a mouthful of it, and a person could have a very lucky day. Everyone sat up straighter when Slughorn told us that the best potion brewer could win a bottle of it.

"Looks like that will you," Nick muttered once Slughorn set the task.

"Not necessarily," I said trying my best to ignore him as I read through the ingredients for the Draught of Living Death.

"Anyway, McDonald's is an American fast food restaurant that muggles go to," Nick said. "My dad loves it. There are some in the UK too. Sometimes when he has to travel for work, he will stop by one if it's near. He's brought it home a few times, and it's quite good."

"Never heard of it," I said. "But we've never really gone to muggle restaurants. We've had pizza before, but that's about it. Maybe he can smell pizza in it."

Nick snickered but didn't say another word. The Draught of Living Death was actually really complicated to make. I'd never really struggled in Potions before, but I had a feeling that might change in NEWT level. Some of the ingredients were really hard to cut, such as the Sopophorous Bean.

I glanced around to see that Harper had progressed further than anyone, and I felt annoyed. I couldn't let him be the one to win the lucky potion. I didn't know what I would use it for, but I wanted it. Usually, potions class was full of chatter, especially ever since Slughorn had taken over, but that day was very quiet. I could see that not even Ginny and Luna were talking to each other though they were side by side near the front.

"You should almost be done now," Slughorn called out as class was close to ending.

As he usually did, he began peering into everyone's cauldron. He coughed a bit as he looked at Harper's potion, so I took this as a good sign. When he came over to mine, he complimented it, but he moved on to look at others. Finally, he stopped by Olivia's cauldron where he let out a shout.

"And here is a perfectly brewed potion," he said. "I don't believe I remember you from last year," he continued looking at Olivia. "Remind me of your name again?"

I sat back fuming. In my opinion, Harper deserved the potion more than she did, and that was saying something. Of all the people to win the potion, it had to be her? From what I remembered, she wasn't very good in the class. How had she done it?

"Not sure if we should be worried or not," Nick said whose potion smelled like burnt rubber. It covered up the smell of the love potion. "I thought you would have it for sure."

"Better me than her," I muttered as I began cleaning up. "Think of everything we could do with it!"

"Well, maybe we'll be able to brew it sometime this year," Nick said standing up. "No point in getting too upset over it. Strange that she brewed it so well, but apparently Harry Potter did last year too, and before Sixth year, he was terrible in the class. Maybe it's something about Sixth year."

"Yeah maybe," I said still annoyed.

"Mr. Hoofer," Slughorn said as he approached me. "Could you stay after class please?"

I wondered if he was disappointed that I hadn't brewed the best potion. I just gave a nod and continued to clean up. I didn't say much once the others began leaving the classroom. Slughorn had returned to his desk by that point. I walked over to his desk quietly once I had everything back in my bag.

"I wondered if you would consider tutoring some fifth years this year," Slughorn said to me. "I was very pleased to see that you received an O. You just did your OWLs, so I thought you'd be one of the best people to help. Rebecca's marks did go up temporarily last year while you two worked together."

Feeling relieved that he wasn't disappointed by my potion, I gave a small shrug.

"I suppose so, but I'd like to get a feel on how Sixth Year will be," I answered. "I know the workload isn't as much as it was last year, but it's rather complicated. I already have a lot I need to do for Arithmancy."

"Just when you can," Slughorn said. "I know it's one of your dreams to be Head Boy next year, and tutoring students can you with that. Your sister is one of the fifth years who could use help, and I imagine you tutor her. I have a list of others who could use your help."

I did want to be a Head Boy next year, and I knew he was right. So I gave him a nod, but then I thought about Romilda.

"I don't want to tutor Romilda though," I said. "She never took it seriously last year."

"Romilda?" Slughorn asked looking confused.

"She is the one I tutored last year," I answered.

How was is that he could forget the names of his pupils so easily?

"Aah right," Slughorn said with a smile. "Well, I'll provide you a list of names of fifth year who need some help. I'll be having more parties this year, Barry. I hope to see you at more than one this year."

"I'll come more this year," I assured him.

As I left the classroom, I couldn't help but think of all I would have to do that year. My schedule would just be as full as it had been last year. Maybe even more so. This time I welcomed the distraction though. The less I had to worry about Tasha and what was happening in the world, the better.

* * *

It was hard to set up tutoring sessions when the DA meetings weren't always set at a particular time or day, though I understood why we were doing it this way. Our last meeting, Neville, Ginny, and Luna began teaching us about dueling more. The three of them had taken it in turns to show us what they'd learned, and I'd been impressed with how fast Neville could move and whip his wand around.

We were still trying to figure out the best way to keep the DA a secret. Our two top ideas were jinxing another signed parchment, and the Fidelius Charm. It was Terry Boot's idea to use a secret keeper, but I wasn't so sure about that, but I also felt guilty about jinxing a parchment that could give our members acne.

Thankfully, Ernie and I were both prefects, so we could get together and discuss it in low voices while pretending to be on duty. We had to be very careful as we did this since we did know that there were spies around.

"Look, the way I see it is if someone's family is threatened, the last thing they'll care about is having the word snitch on their face," Terry told us. "Barry, you talk about your little brother a lot, and if you had to choose between them murdering him or revealing the DA, I'm sure you'd choose your little brother, and no one would blame you for that."

"I like to think I'd find a way to protect all of us," I answered. "I wouldn't want to be like Peter Pettigrew."

"All of us do," Terry said. "But I don't think it'd be the same as Peter Pettigrew ratting out the Potters. No one knows what they would do under that kind of pressure. All of us want to say we'd be brave and save everyone, but Barry, you've been put under the Cruciatus Curse. Think of someone doing that to Ben."

I nodded as I thought about this, but I still didn't want to think I'd sell everyone out. I'd like to think I'd find a way to save Ben, and save the DA at the same time.

"But we run into that problem with someone being a secret keeper as well," Ernie pointed out. "Do we really think that they'd go that far to find out a secret society at Hogwarts? Look, they're horrible, but it's not like we're hiding Harry Potter or something. I think something like the DA would just be a minor annoyance to them."

"They might," Luna responded. "They expect nothing but obedience, so they might go for our families."

"Okay, but they can do that no matter what protection we use," Ernie said.

"But the Secret Keeper is still more secure than a jinxed piece of parchment," Terry responded. "Only one of us can tell the secret. They'd have to try and kill us off one by one, and as long as they don't know who is in the DA, they can't do that."

"Same could be said about the jinxed parchment though," I said.

"I think we should put all our ideas in for a vote," Luna finally said. "We'll let the others decide. I still say the jinxed parchment combined with the pinky promise is the way to go. We'll know the moment it happens, and who did it."

"We'd have to figure out Hermione did that spell though," I said. "If we're all connected, that means all of us could have snitch written on our faces, and they would figure out who the members all are."

"I think I know how," Luna responded. "My father once wrote an article in the Quibbler about the pinky promise, and I used to make them with my mum all the time. I'll see if I can find out."

By the next DA meeting, thanks to Ernie, we'd figured out how to make sure the new coins we made were connected to the original coins. We also took to vote on how we'd keep the DA secret, and surprisingly, many of them went with the jinxed parchment, and the pinky promise. I voted for the Secret Keeper thinking that was the best way, but for some reason, others didn't agree. Luna had figured it out how to make it so that if someone ratted, the word: snitch, wouldn't appear on all our faces.

I wondered if it was the biggest pinky promise connection ever made.

"I don't think we'll cross secret keeper off this list quite yet," Neville told us. "I think it's still a good idea, but we can make it so that no one can enter this room when we are in it."

"I like the pinky promise because we'll know the moment someone rats us out," Ginny said. "We can prepare ourselves better that way. We won't be caught off guard like last time, and it's a lot to ask from someone to be a secret keeper. Now, today, we're going to through the spells we learned last time but-" and she hesitated before she glanced at Neville.

"But we've also come up with our first task for the DA," Neville said. "And it's very dangerous. So we think that the three of us," and he pointed to himself, Ginny and Luna, "should be the ones to do it. But we'll need lookouts. We'll discuss that at the end of the meeting."

"But what are you planning on doing?" Brianne asked. "If it's dangerous, we should all know about it."

Ginny sighed before glancing at Neville.

"Scrimgeour visited my house during the summer to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione some stuff that Dumbledore left them in his will," Ginny began. "I won't tell you what they were, so don't ask. One of the things that was left to Harry was the Sword of Gryffindor though, but Scrimgeour wouldn't give it to him. We think it's very important; otherwise, Dumbledore wouldn't have left it to him."

"I was sent to Snape's office recently for anti-social behaviour," Neville continued, and he pointed to his cheek where he had a large bruise on his cheek. By that point, several students had been beaten up, so no one had questioned it. "I saw the Sword in a display when I was up there."

"Are you mad?" Michael Corner shouted. "You're going to break into Snape's office to steal the sword?"

"Yes," Luna answered looking as serene as usual.

"Listen," Nick began. "What they did to me will look like childs play compared to what they'll do to the three of you! You can't!"

"We have to," Ginny said. "And we aren't going to ask anyone who doesn't want to be involved to help. We'd like it if we could get a few Prefects, but we don't want to ask anyone to sacrifice their badges either. We'll discuss it more later though. I promise, we'll work out a good plan."

Around the room, people were exchanging looks. They were crazy, Nick was right! The Carrows would likely use them for Crucio practice for the rest of the year, not to mention what they'd do the moment they were caught! And as much as I would like to say that I would help, I didn't think I could do it, and I knew that made a coward.

Neville was already moving the meeting on.

"Today we'd like you to pick a different partner," he was calling out. "It's not a good idea to duel the same person every time. You'll get used to them. We'd also like to start practising dueling non-verbally soon. Say what you want about Snape, but he had a point about non-verbals when it comes to battles."

"We'd also like for you lot to start looking up spells outside of the DA," Ginny continued. "If you know of any, we can always practice them in here. The more we know, the better."

"Barry, don't you have books of hexes and jinxes?" Luna suddenly asked me, and I looked up in surprise.

"I do," I answered. "I bought them for us to practice when Umbridge was here."

"Do you think you could bring them to the next meeting?" She continued, and I nodded.

"Good," Ginny said. "Harry had some spell books, but obviously we can't use them. Anything we can find will be useful. Please divide up into partners and practice."

"Do you know the incantation for that spell Harry used last year?" I asked her as I stood up. "That one he used to make Ron hang from the ceiling?"

"You heard about that?" Ginny asked.

"From you," Nick said with amusement, and he looked over at Seamus. "And Seamus as well."

Everyone was looking at Ginny with interest as well.

"I think it was levicorpus," she said. "I'm not too sure though. He told me about it while we were dating, and the counter curse was… I think Liberacorpus."

"Could always try on one of us," Seamus said. "It'd be useful to know."

"He used another one as well," Ginny said. "It made it easier to talk without people overhearing. Not even extendible ears can penetrate it. I think if I teach you this spell, you have to agree that we can only use it as a last resort. I do remember that what Harry did got around the school. They might figure out what we're doing if we use it too much."

"Try it out on me then," Seamus said standing up.

Ginny stood for a moment, deep in thought before she flicked her wand upward at Seamus. Seamus let out a shout as he was suddenly hanging up upside down. It looked as if someone was holding him by his right ankle.

"Hopefully the other one is counter otherwise you'll be there for a while," Ginny said with a grin before pointing her wand back at Seamus. He crashed back down to the ground seconds later.

"Brilliant!" Several people shouted.

"Remember, it's non-verbal," Ginny called out as people began getting into partners.

I decided to work with Philip while Nick went to work with Darren. Before I could even react, Philip had me dangling by my ankle. He stood laughing at me, but he wasn't the only one. Around the room, there were several people hanging upside down.

"Payback for last year," Philip told me before flicking his wand.

I hit the ground hard, but I reached for my wand quickly and pointed it at him while thinking: Levicorpus! Philip yelled out, and he was now upside down instead. I wondered if Ginny would regret teaching us this spell as people yelled out around the room. Darren had done the same to Nick, but instead of waiting until he was back on the ground, Nick had pointed his wand at Darren, and now the pair of them were upside down.

"Payback for what exactly?" I asked figuring I could wait before letting Philip down. He'd made me hit the ground hard.

"Jinxing me in the corridors," Philip laughed.

"You deserved that," I responded before letting him down.

For the rest of the meeting, people were being lifted up by their ankles. Neville, Ginny, and Luna must have decided to let us get it out of our systems because they didn't protest this. They just hung back talking in low voices while we all dueled. Philip and I were trying to have a real duel when Neville finally blew into a whistle.

"Alright, I don't think we need to keep everyone for the last part of this meeting," he said. "We would like to keep anyone back who would like to be lookouts for us. We'll start making plans with that lot. The rest of you, make sure you start looking for new spells to practice."

"What about the graffiti," Terry Boot asked. "I thought soon we'd writing on the walls to recruit more people."

"Soon," Neville said. "We can't have it at the same time that we break into Snape's office. If we're caught, we want them to think it's just the three of us. We don't want the DA to be associated with this plan. Our lookouts won't be caught, and it's why we're going to plan that, and why we'd rather have Prefects. It won't be suspicious because the teachers will think you're just patrolling. No one under fifth year."

"So who would like to volunteer?" Luna asked.

I was shocked to see Brenda's hand shoot up. There were several people who put their hands up, but Neville, Ginny, and Luna only chose six people. I thought she glanced at me in disappointment, but she didn't say anything. I knew it was cowardly of me, and I did feel guilty, but not enough to raise my hand.

I was surprised to see Nick raise his hand after they'd chosen people (including Brenda) and I wondered if he wanted to be part of it now as well.

"I just wondered what that spell was that you brought up earlier?" He asked. "It will make it easier if we need to talk to each other."

"Oh right," Ginny said quickly. "It's Muffliato. You can all start going. Remember, just a few at a time. The rest of you, we'll discuss how we're going to do this."

It was a while before Nick, and I left. We didn't speak until we were closer to Ravenclaw tower, and then he turned to me.

"I'm surprised you didn't volunteer," Nick said.

"I seriously considered it, but… I can't," I said. "I'm such a coward because that is probably the most important mission they'll go on. Brenda is risking it by signing up. I think Ginny is disappointed that I didn't."

"You've done a lot for the DA already," Nick reminded me. "You're a high achiever which is why they wanted you. They know that the teachers think you're the last student to break the rules. They have Brenda who is the biggest goody-two-shoes."

"Well, you're not wrong about that. I'm still surprised she volunteered. She's been surprising me a lot this year though," I said. "I think it's because those-"

We stopped talking as Harper, and a few mates came around the corner. The two of us froze, but they were in deep discussion and not even paying attention to us. I wondered why they were even up on the seventh floor in the first place. It wasn't until they were closer to us that they noticed we were there.

"Hoofer and Lawrence," Harper said once we got closer. "Better make sure you keep your toes in line. Almost curfew I see and Hoofer isn't on duty tonight. Better hurry on to your Common Room."

He said it in such an arrogant way that I felt immediately suspicious. I noticed Nick was reaching for his pocket, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him along. We stayed quiet until we reached the stairs, and then Nick began a long list of complaints about him.

"Don't you think it's odd that he was on our floor in the first place," I said. "What if he is trying to catch the DA at it? He was part of the Inquisitorial Squad two years ago."

"But he knows where the Room of Requirement is," Nick said. "Wouldn't he be waiting outside of it?"

"Maybe, but he sounded suspicious," I said.

"I think he was just his usual self," Nick responded knocking on the door.

I answered the question, and we went inside. I hoped Nick was right, but I felt like there was more to it than him being a prat. I just found it odd, and I figured I'd warn Ginny later on. We were all sure the Carrows had spies after all.


	47. Sixth Year Part Three

I'd decided to take on three Fifth Years for the time being. With all I had to do, I didn't think that I would have more time than that to devote to more than that. Brenda refused to be tutored by her big brother, so it was three fifth years I didn't know. Just as I'd asked Romilda the year before, I had them meet me in the library. Two were blokes, and one was a girl.

The three of them met with me one late Sunday afternoon. The girl was a cute redhead in Slytherin, while the blokes were Gryffindors. I figured eventually I would tutor them one on one, but for the first meeting, I wanted to see where they were at for their strengths and weaknesses. The girl, Eileen, was behind every Potions assignment, while the blokes struggled with making proper potions, and they didn't put any effort into their essays.

"You don't seem so bad," Roy, one of the boys said as I explained their latest Potions assignment to them.

It had been a year since I'd done it, but I remembered the essay and I understood it really well. I felt as if I'd just written it a few weeks ago instead of a year ago. I looked up in confusion at his comment.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're Brenda's older brother," he said. "I wasn't sure about having you as a tutor because she is such a-" I raised my eyebrows at him, "well, most of us can't stand her anyway," he said, looking away. His mate Jeff snorted and stared down at his essay while Eileen, the girl, hid a grin behind her hand.

"Brenda and I are nothing alike," I said. "Anyway, by the look of all your essays, it seems your biggest problem is that you're not even trying."

"I have more important classes to worry about than Potions," Eileen told me. "I'm just doing it because I have to. Snape told me I'd be in detention if I don't improve my marks, and well, we all know what detention is like these days. So I took Slughorn's offer up on being tutored."

"Potions is very important for a lot of careers," I told her. "Even if you don't plan to keep it past fifth year, they'll still look at what classes you got OWLs in. It's one of the core classes, and you should be trying for at least an A."

"But it's hard, and Slughorn never remembers my name," she protested. "He only cares about his precious Slug Club members."

"He never remembers my name either," Roy spoke up.

"Probably because you are a brat of a mudblood," Eileen muttered.

"I don't want to hear you say that word again!" I snapped. "I happen to be a prefect as well."

Eileen just rolled her eyes while the two boys glared over at her.

"Whatever," she said. "Transfiguration is my best class, so I plan to take any career that revolves around that class anyway. I told you, I'm only doing this, so I don't have to be tortured."

"Funny, you're scared to get detention by the very people you support," Jeff said.

"I never said I supported them," Eileen answered.

"Your mudblood comment said otherwise," I pointed out to her. "And I prefer to help students who are taking it seriously. You're wasting my time, and I have my own studies. So decide now what you want to do. I'm sure Slughorn can give me someone else who wants help."

She let out a loud, obnoxious sigh and then crossed her arms.

"I want help," she finally said. "Fine, I won't say anything that will offend you," she added, rolling her eyes.

"Good, and you'll take your schoolwork seriously from now on. I'm volunteering to help all three of you. I don't have to do this, and so I want people who want help."

"We want help," Jeff muttered.

And thankfully, there were no more arguments after that. By the end of the two hours, I had all three caught up on the latest essay. I decided after that it would be best to work with Jeff and Roy, but to tutor Eileen by herself. They obviously had their differences with each other, and I didn't want to spend most of the sessions breaking up fights. Thankfully, by the end of the two hours, I'd managed to help them make progress. I let the boys go first, but I kept Eileen behind.

"Going to lecture me more?" She sneered.

"No," I responded. "We're going to make a schedule because you have a lot more to catch up on. We may need to work together during the week as well, but I'm going to work with you for a couple of hours on Saturdays and Sundays too. That is until you're caught up."

She sighed.

"Oh, I don't know…" she said slowly, "I have a very busy social circle, and fifth-year is very hard. I'm not sure if I can spare more time than one day a week."

"Fine, we'll work two hours on Sundays before lunch, and then I'll work with the boys after lunch," I told her. "Remember, I don't have to help you."

"You've told me," she said coldly. "Fine, I'll work with you Saturday mornings as well," she said with a really loud sigh again. "Is that all?"

"Yes," I answered with annoyance. "And drop the attitude. I won't work with you if you keep giving me attitude the way a little kid does."

Eileen just shook her head before getting up and walking off. It was my turn to sigh, and I put my face into my hands. What had I gotten myself into?

* * *

With all I had to do, time did begin to go by swiftly. We were soon into October, and the weather was slowly getting colder again. Every morning, I would check the chalkboard to see if my parents had written anything to me, but if there was any bad news, they seemed to refrain from telling us anything. If they contacted us, it was through the usual way with Hooty. I figured this was to take suspicion off our family.

All I wanted was to know if they'd heard from Tasha or not. She didn't contact us through the coins anymore, but I was sure she was paying attention to them. I didn't want to send her a message on it as thirty or more people would get it as well.

Neville, Ginny, and Luna decided to make things more complicated for us during DA meetings. Instead of just having us aim at any opponent, they had people start running around, and those who weren't running had to try and hex those who were running. I'd mastered a lot of the spells that we'd been learning, but it was a lot harder when my target was running around. I rarely hit any of them, and apparently, they wanted us to go into mock battles eventually.

Half the time, they would join in with us, but other times, they would be on the other side of the room, making plans to break into Snape's office with their helpers.

"Blimey," Nick gasped as he tried to get me with the boil hex. "How are we ever supposed to hit anyone?"

He wiped a hand over his face before stopping to take a drink of water. Some people had brought pitchers of water and glasses for us in case we got thirsty. Most days, when we were practicing, we'd get really hot.

"I don't know," I responded, watching him. "I've only managed to get Philip once."

I, too, reached for a glass water wishing I knew the water conjuring spell. I knew we'd be learning it at some point that year; I just didn't know when.

"Suppose it's good practice, though, but look at Ernie and Terry, they're doing really well," Nick nodding in the direction of the two seventh years.

I figured it had to do with the fact that they'd been in the DA before. Their wands were whipping around so fast while they ran around the room, aiming hexes or jinxes at each other. They weren't even speaking while they tried. Finally, Terry managed to hit Ernie with the Levicorpus spell. Ernie let out a loud yell as he was suddenly in the air, upside down. A few fourth years were near them, and they began to giggle.

"Okay, that's it," Nick said. "We need to try harder, Barry. We need to get as good as they are. I think we're both scared to actually hit each other. From now on, there is no holding back. Are you ready?"

I nodded.

I saw Nick whip his wand out, but I was ready for it. I'd gotten good at using the shield charm non-verbally, so I was able to deflect before I ran. Nick chased me, trying to hit me with whatever, but I was able to dodge or deflect every spell. I was trying to think of him as the Death Eaters who had shown up at my home in the summer. It made it easier to send some of the harsher spells at him. Finally, one of his spells hit my shield and bounced back at him. He was suddenly covered in boils.

"Cool," I said as he paused to hold out his arms.

"Maybe for you," he said, and before I could stop him, he sent it at me again, and I was suddenly covered in boils as well.

"Thanks, mate," I said as I examined the painful boils.

"No holding back," he told me.

"Apparently not," I responded. "Getting me while I'm not paying attention."

"Your opponent would do the same," Ginny said as she walked past us. She grinned at us as she continued walking around.

"She has a point," Nick told me with a wink. "But now we need an antidote for this."

"Well, you're going to have to wait until we go back to the Common Room," I told him. "We can't go see Pomfrey, and there are none here. I don't think Room of Requirement will provide that."

"Shame it doesn't," Nick said, looking around with hope. "Considering it seems to provide a lot of things, you'd think it would be able to provide us with antidotes. It's provided some rather nice books since we talked about learning more hexes and jinxes," he added, nodding over at a bookshelf full of books.

It contained books about hexes and jinxes, but it also had books about duelling as well. I had a feeling that it was where our leaders were learning about duelling. I knew they'd fought by the Astronomy Tower, but the three of them seemed to have gained even more knowledge when it came to fights since the first meeting.

Neville suddenly blew into a whistle he kept around his neck, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Today was better than usual," he called out to everyone. "I see a lot of improvement with everyone. I think for our next meeting, we'll do a real mock battle. We'll divide everyone up into Death Eaters or Hogwarts fighters."

"But we might not have meetings for the next couple of weeks," Ginny continued and smiled a little at the disappointed groans. "We're going to put our plan into action this week, and we don't want them to be suspicious of what we're doing if we're caught. We want the blame to be solely on us three, and they might start watching this room if they think the DA has to do with it."

"What if they really hurt you?" Brianne asked. "They've already shown that they don't care about hurting us. Hilda couldn't come to a meeting tonight because Alecto really hurt her, and all she did was snort in class!"

"It's why we want it to be just the three of us," Neville told her. "We don't want to sacrifice other DA members."

"What if we're prepared to make that sacrifice?" A fourth-year Gryffindor boy called out.

"Well, we're not," Luna told him kindly. "The rest of you will get the chance to help out the DA eventually."

"We're going to try to recruit more members at the end of the month, or in November," Ginny continued. "Once a few weeks have passed, we'll start. We're going to try and lay low, so we're asking all of you to try and not rebel too much. I know it's hard, and I know you all want to stand up to them, but just for the next few weeks, try to behave. We're hoping they won't connect the two together."

"The Carrows aren't very smart after all," Neville added with a grin. "But Snape might put two and two together. So just watch your coins, but this might be the last meeting for a while. After that, we're going to be in the open a lot more. We'll write on the walls that the DA is still recruiting, but we're also going to start reporting some truths that the Daily Prophet refuses to print."

"Daddy prints it all in the Quibbler," Luna spoke up. "Snape's banned it, but daddy can send me copies without them being detected."

"We'll put posters out during Quidditch Matches, and any of us in the Sixth or Seventh year can try and put some out during our free periods," Ginny added. "And it might be really risky, but we want to put some out early in the mornings as well."

"Will there be truths about Potter?" A fifth-year girl called out as she waved her hand. "I heard a few weeks ago that he broke into the Ministry, but no one has said much since then. Is it true, or is that just a rumour?"

I hadn't heard about that one, and I wondered why mum and dad hadn't mentioned it to me. I glanced over at Ginny to see what she had to say about this.

"We think it's true," Ginny said. "Luna's dad printed it in the Quibbler, and we think that's why Snape banned the paper. He put the decree up almost twenty-four hours later. I don't think he thought anyone would think it was odd since he was reinstating a lot of her old decrees."

I put my hand up as I thought about the fact that I could probably provide news as well. I just couldn't tell them how. The Ravenclaws were one thing, but I didn't think it was a good idea to tell every DA member.

"I can probably find things out as well," I told everyone. "I can't tell you how because I promised, but my parents have a way of contacting us."

I hoped neither Brenda or Brianne would get upset that I stated this. I glanced over at Brenda first to see her reaction, but she suddenly stood up straighter. She usually did this if she wanted to seem more important. Brianne was nodding her head as if to agree with me.

"If anyone can provide us with News, that would be great," Ginny said. "Hermione told me that your parents are unofficial members of the Order, so they probably do know enough."

A few heads to turned to look at us in interest now. A lot of people knew who the Order of the Phoenix was by that point. They all knew just how important the group was now, and I knew there were plenty of people who wanted to be part of it. I could hear murmurs from some asking why our parents weren't part of it officially.

"They might be now," Brenda said in answer to the whispers. "They weren't before because they were scared of fighting with us around. Everyone is probably going to have to fight at some point now, though. Mum likely isn't because of our little brother, but dad probably is."

"Anyway," Neville said. "If any of you can find anything out by the next meeting, that would be great. Just keep looking up spells and read up what you can on duelling if it's possible. We want to make sure everyone is prepared, even if the younger students won't be fighting. Anyone in the fifth year and older should be ready to battle at any given moment. We don't know what Harry is doing or if he will show up tomorrow."

"Why are you so sure he is going to show up?" Zacharias Smith called out. "He seems to have disappeared, even if the Ministry story is true, we don't know anything. Maybe they killed him, and we haven't heard."

"No one is asking you to do fight," Ernie told him. "You don't have to come to these meetings."

"I just want to know why they're so sure he is going to show up," Zacharias Smith responded. "And I'm not the only one who thinks like that. There have been a lot more people than me questioning this."

"We think Harry is doing something big, and eventually, he'll need our help," Neville stated, "and I want us to be prepared. I think we should be prepared even if he isn't coming back. We're not always going to be at school, and we might have to fight someone at some point when we leave. Harry said two years ago that we should be prepared for the real world, and that's what we are going to do. If anyone has a problem with this, then they don't have to be here."

He paused as if waiting for Zacharias to say more, but the boy kept quiet. He just folded his arms and sighed. To be fair, I felt he made a good point as well. I understood what Neville was saying, but how did we know if Harry was coming back? I didn't believe he was dead. I think we'd all know that because You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters would want everyone to know, but why did the three leaders believe that Hogwarts was Harry's destination?

"If there aren't any more questions, everyone except our helpers is dismissed. If it all goes well, we'll have a meeting, and we'll need somewhere to hide the sword. If it doesn't… well, I think the whole school will find out," Neville said. "We'll see you at the end of the month if it doesn't work out."

I thought he sounded a lot braver than he actually felt. I thought I saw fear in his eyes, but it was only there for a moment before he looked at Ginny and Luna. I noticed Luna usually stayed quiet during the meetings. She only put in her opinions once and a while, but Neville and Ginny did the most talking.

Everyone began leaving, letting the younger ones go first, a few at a time. Nick, Philip, Darren, and I left together when we were given the signal. There was no one in sight, and I wondered how long we'd be able to keep this up. Would Snape reinforce the Inquisitorial Squad? Would they start spying to see if we were having meetings again? What if their plan went to hell?

The other three were talking about a Transfiguration essay we had due, but I was deep in thought. I felt like things were going too easy for us lately, and that something was going to happen.

* * *

My suspicions were confirmed a couple of days later. Nick and I were working on Arithmancy when Brenda rushed over to us, looking scared. Immediately, we both looked up and set our quills down.

"They were caught!" She whispered as she sat down at our table. "We were looking out for them as we were supposed to, but Snape must have security spells in the Headmasters office. I was pretending to be on patrol when I saw the Carrows and Snape rush down the corridor."

"Were they suspicious of you at all?" Nick asked her and Brenda shook her head.

"No, they barely noticed me," she responded. "I think it's why they didn't choose any of their friends. If Seamus or someone was there, they might have. Amycus Carrow told me that patrol was over and to get to my Common Room immediately. The others were hiding, but I'm sure they heard him say it. I just don't think it's going to be good. We know it won't be, but I think they were underestimating what would actually happen."

"Well, don't talk about it anymore out here," I told her as I glanced around the Common Room. "They don't want anyone else to get caught, and you never know who is listening."

Everyone was into their own thing, but that didn't mean anything.

"What if they get really hurt, though?" Brenda whispered. "I'll feel so guilty because I was part of it. I just wanted to do my part to help. I still feel guilty for being part of the Squad, and I felt if I helped the DA, it would make up for it."

"Brenda, you need to stop beating yourself up over that," I told her. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

"I hate to think what is happening to them right now," Nick muttered. "They've beaten up so many of us, but who knows what they're doing right now."

We stayed up late, waiting for Luna to return. What if she was beaten up worse than Nick? It had taken him most of the day to be able to get back to the Common Room, and what she did was much worse. After a while, the other Sixth Years joined us, as if knowing what we were waiting for. Brenda whispered quickly what had happened while she'd pretended to patrol.

It was close to midnight when Luna finally entered the Common Room. However, there was not a scratch on her. She walked in, serenely the way she usually did. Most people had gone to bed by that point, except a group of Fifth Years. Luna walked straight over to us.

"Hullo, how come you're all still up?" She asked as we all stared at her.

"What happened, Luna?" Nick asked. "You were gone for a long time, and Brenda said that the three of you'd been caught. Did they hurt you?"

"Oh no," Luna responded, and we all gaped at her in shock. "I think the Carrows wanted to very much. Amycus said we needed the Cruciatus Curse, but Snape said no. We have detention in the forest with Hagrid this weekend."

"What?" I asked with shock.

I was glad that nothing terrible had happened to them, but I didn't understand. Why would Snape stop the Carrows from beating them up, only to send the three of them into the forest with Hagrid? The others were looking at each other as well questioningly as well.

"Maybe Snape knows there will be an uproar if they go too far," Philip said. "That's the only thing I can think of, but why hasn't he said anything before now? A second-year was beaten up two days ago for fighting in the corridors. Breaking into Snape's office is the worst thing anyone could do!"

"Maybe they don't want to draw attention to it," Brenda said. "Maybe Snape doesn't want anyone to know that people broke into his office. If they beat up three students, it will probably get around that people tried to break in."

"But why did it take so long for you to get back?" Gretchen asked Luna. "You were gone for hours!"

"They argued for a good bit about how we should be punished, and then we were lectured for quite a while. They said some very rude things about Ginny's family and Harry Potter," Luna responded. "Once they decided on our punishment, they sent us on our way, but we talked before we separated. We were confused too. Neville thought we'd at least get cruciated."

"So what about, you know?" Darren asked her in a low voice though the Fifth Years weren't paying any attention to us.

"You'll just have to watch the coins," Luna answered. "But we're going to wait. If we do anything right away, Snape might get suspicious, and we're already shocked that we weren't hurt."

"Honestly, no matter how long we wait, I think they'll guess," Philip said and then stood up and stretched. "I'm glad to see that you're okay, Luna. I just hope there isn't anything worse waiting for you in the forest."

I wondered about this as well as I, too stood up. Maybe he was giving them a false sense of hope. We all knew that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden for a reason.

* * *

We went out to visit Hagrid that weekend. We were hoping he could tell us what was waiting for our leaders, but we also hadn't had the chance to visit him that year. I hadn't seen him at all the year before, and I was feeling guilty about it. Brianne decided to go down with us when she heard where we were going. We went after lunch on Saturday afternoon.

Hagrid was outside tending to his huge pumpkins; Fang was by his side. He didn't notice us until we reached the pumpkin patch.

"They look even bigger this year," Brianne commented, causing Hagrid to jump in shock.

He turned to look over at with a startled expression on his face. Once he saw who it was, his hairy face broke out into a grin. I wondered why he was so jumpy, and if it had to do with the detention, he had to serve later on.

"Was wonderin' when I'd see yeh lot this year," he said enthusiastically. "Haven' see yeh in a long time Barry."

"Barry cares too much about schoolwork," Nick told him as he grinned at me. He nudged me in the side with his elbow.

"He really does," Brianne said, grinning. "I think he is worse than Brenda sometimes."

"Give it two years," I told her. "You'll get it once you have to do OWL year. I did want to visit you," I added to Hagrid. "But with all I had to do last year, I just didn't have the time."

"Nick 'splained it to me last year," Hagrid said. "Would yeh three like a cup of tea?"

"Sure," Brianne said happily. "I've meant to see you too, but so much has been happening this year. I hope everything is okay with you. You seem kind of jumpy."

"Spect everyone is," Hagrid told her. "Don't worry about me. Tell me more about yeh lot, come on inside, it's gettin' cold out now."

The three of us happily followed him into his hut. Once we were inside, I realized just how much I missed visits with Hagrid. His hut was small, but it was warm and cozy. He was usually a good source of comfort, and it was a way to enjoy an afternoon at the castle, especially during these times.

"Heard yeh two were hurt by the Carrows," Hagrid said as he began heating up some water in his kettle. "What happened?"

"Carrow wanted me to cruciate Brenda, and I wasn't willing to do it," I responded, taking a seat. "So he used it on me instead, and then Nick hexed him."

"Mad thing to do," Hagrid told Nick was who examining a bunch of flobber worms for some reason.

Nick shrugged and then walked over to take a seat with us.

"It was worth it, and I'll probably do it again," he responded.

"Yeh don't what they are capable of, them Carrows," Hagrid told him. "So far they've been beating up kids, but yeh never know if they'll go too far and kill a kid just to prove a point. It's somethin' I'll be talkin' to Ginny, Neville, and Luna tonight. None of yeh should be takin' risks like that."

"It's hard to sit back and listen to them," Brianne told him. "I've heard they won't kill kids because they want to raise an army of Death Eaters."

"Unless yeh lot don't cooperate," Hagrid said.

"Surely, you aren't sitting back and keeping quiet," Nick said. "You probably support Harry more than anyone."

"I'm yer teacher," Hagrid responded. "I just think yeh lot should be more careful. Can't do much to hurt me, but yer all young and underage."

"What's happening tonight, then?" Nick asked him. "We know they have detention with them."

"Jus' gotta do some work in the forest tonight," Hagrid assured him. "Snape has some work as well, but I'll be lookin' out for all three of 'em and I'll be talkin' to 'em. Seems the moment Harry is gone, there are more people to take his place. I jus' don't want to see any more kids hurt. What about Tasha?"

"I can't tell you anything except that she is protected by a Secret Keeper," I told him.

"Bes' not to tell me that either," Hagrid told me. "Bes' to tell people she is in hiding, but they'll be goin' after your family if you keep tellin' people that."

"We have been," Nick said quickly. "We've only told a few people about the Secret Keeper. When most people ask, we just tell them that we don't know where she is."

"Good, good," Hagrid said. "Jus' be careful. So, what else have yeh lot been up to?"

Though it was nice to see Hagrid again, the visit wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. I worried he was just telling us what we wanted to hear when it came to the detention that night. Ginny and Luna were my friends, and I had a great deal of respect for Neville as well. He'd grown from a timid boy to a leader who'd fought in two battles so far. I remembered when people (including Nick and Philip) would question why Neville was in Gryffindor. I was sure that no one was questioning it now.

Everyone waited up for Luna again the night of her detention, but she didn't tell us very much. The most she would tell us was that nothing terrible happened, and we needn't worry. Nick and I talked about this in the following days, neither understanding what Snape was trying to pull.

"All their families are well known," Nick said. "You'd think the Carrow's or Snape would do something to them to make a point."

"I dunno," I said. "Only thing I can think of is maybe they don't want to do anything too big after taking over the Ministry. But that doesn't make sense either since they're still killing."

We discussed our theories with the others in secret as well, but no one could up with a sensible conclusion. It wasn't the same as before now that they were in the open. They weren't trying to hide, so why wouldn't they do more to Luna, Ginny, and Neville for breaking into Snape's office? So many students had been beaten up for a lot less.

We wanted to discuss it with all the DA members together, but our coins hadn't burnt in our pockets for weeks. I was sure that we'd be having another meeting soon as we were hoping to do something during the first Quidditch match.

"Perhaps they're afraid of a student uprising," Brianne whispered on Halloween. "Luna, Ginny, and Neville are popular right now. All the younger kids look up to them, and everyone else admires them because of all they've done. Maybe if they go too far with them, they're worried we'll all fight."

"But they've beaten Neville up for other things," I said. "And the Carrows like picking on Ginny the most in classes. They know she is Harry's ex, and they also know she has an explosive temper. They want to punish them."

"Maybe they're planning on going after them one by one eventually," Brenda said. "Maybe Snape is hoping everyone is imagining a lot worse happened during their detention. He's probably waiting until we've all forgotten about it, and that's when they're going to do it."

Out of the theories we'd heard so far, I believed Brenda might have been on to something. It wasn't even common knowledge that the three had been caught in Snape's office. Maybe they were planning something big, and so they were hoping that Luna, Ginny, and Neville would relax when they realized they got off easily. Once enough time passed, maybe that's when they would go after them, and all the Hogwarts kids would think it was completely unrelated.

Thankfully, an hour before the Halloween Feast, we felt our coins burn with a new time and date. We were to all meet in the Room of Requirement after breakfast the next day. It was a Hogsmeade day, and I wondered if that was the reason for why. I hoped that meant that we'd finally get some information about their detention, or if they knew anything new.

The Halloween Feast was disappointing. While the Great Hall was decorated with the usual pumpkins, and the live bats were back, nothing else happened. Usually, there was always excited chatter and a special show, but that year, people barely spoke. Everyone just ate and whispered among their friends. We didn't dare discuss anything about the DA or the detention during the Feast.

Both the Carrows had picked up an annoying habit to walk up and down the aisles of the tables during meal times. So most people just ate as quickly could, and then left the Great Hall most days. That night wasn't any different, though I did wonder if anything odd would happen. In previous years, something usually did happen Halloween night. However, it ended up being a quiet night for once.

The next morning, Nick, Brianne, and I ate quickly before rushing upstairs to the Room of Requirement. Brianne's friends wanted to go to Hogsmeade as it was their first year going. Philip and Darren were pretending to leave for Hogsmeade but would sneak back in. I wondered if many others were going to do the same.

We already knew to make sure the corridors were clear on the seventh floor. If we saw any other DA members hanging around, we were to wait until the coast was clear just in case people were watching. However, we didn't need to worry about it that day. The halls were completely clear when we arrived.

Nick paced three times quickly in front of the hidden entrance before the door appeared. Inside, we found that the room had changed considerably since the last time we'd been there. There were now low walls all around the room in the form of what I thought was a maze. I couldn't help but think of Tasha and how disappointed she'd be. This would have been her idea of fun. I had a feeling I knew what we were doing that day.

Just some seventh years, including Neville, were standing by the small entrance to the maze. Luna and Ginny were among them as well.

"Is this a maze?" Nick asked. "How did you do this?"

"Neville asked for it to set up a way for us to be able to do mock battles," Seamus answered him.

"It's not exactly the same as fighting in the corridors, but it could be helpful, I suppose," Ginny said.

"I think because the maze Harry had to fight through was on my mind," Neville said. "I think we can make it work. We don't know when the battle will be. I don't like Smith, but he has a point. This is about preparing us even if it's five years from now. We'll be better fighters in the end."

"Barry, if you can, we'd like it if you can start making antidotes in your free time," Ginny continued. "Ernie and Terry Boot made several for today, but if anyone who is good at Potion's could help us, we'd be grateful."

I gave a small shrug. I didn't mind doing this too much. Most antidotes were easy to make for the spells we'd be using. I knew that likely, the DA was going to be coming to me more often for help, and so I'd decided to embrace it. Mum and dad let Ben use the chalkboards now, and he'd pointed out to me very recently that I should be flattered that they did come to me. Though I knew he was glad that he was safe at home, he'd written that he wished he was there learning spells as well.

I didn't tell him too much about what we were doing, but just enough. I was just relieved that mum and dad were letting him communicate with us this way now. He promised he would deliver news if he overheard anything, and I promised him I'd tell him what he needed to know as well. I didn't want him to know the extent of our injuries, though. He didn't need to know how badly Nick had been beaten up, for example.

"So I take it there is no holding back today?" I asked.

"We'll tell you more when more people arrive," Neville told me. "Today is just a learning experience to see if it works."

"And will we learn more about what happened at your detention?" Nick asked.

"Not much happened," Ginny said. "I don't know what Snape is thinking, but it does worry us. We broke into his office, and the worst he's done is give us detention, and we're not allowed to visit Hogsmeade for the rest of the year."

"Won't this be suspicious then?" I asked. "What if they expect you to do this?"

"I think they expect us to do something either way," Ginny said.

More and more people began to arrive. There wasn't much sitting room as most of the room was a maze, so most people were standing by the time everyone was there. Many people began to question them what happened that night, but Neville blew a whistle to silence everyone.

"We're going to do a mock battle today," Neville said once there was silence. "Is everyone here. It looks smaller than the last time."

"My friends went to Hogsmeade," Brianne spoke up. "It's our third year, and they didn't want to miss out. I wanted to come here, though. Others might be there as well."

"We'll give them about ten more minutes before we start," Neville said. "We told you to learn as many hexes and jinxes as you could at the last meeting. Today, we want you to put them into use. We're going to divide half the people into Hogwarts students and Death Eaters. Remember, you have to forget the Death Eaters are your friends. Today, they are your enemy, and you're fighting for your life."

"We'll see how today goes, and then we'll see what we can improve," Ginny continued.

After ten minutes passed, Neville, Ginny, and Luna divided us up into Hogwarts students or Death Eaters. I wasn't too happy when I was chosen as a Death Eater, but I knew it was important, and I knew I couldn't always fight for the good side in these battles. Nick was a Hogwarts student, and so were Brianne and Brenda. When they were finished, they assigned themselves as Death Eaters or students as well. Luna joined me as a Death Eater.

The maze was in the middle of the room, and Luna led us to the other side, where I realized that there was another door.

"So, do you have any plans on what we're going to do?" I asked Luna as we headed to the other side.

"No, we're just learning as we go today. Neville and Ginny want to wait to see how today goes. Oh- but we do need to change our robes all black," she added quickly. "It's to distinguish from the Hogwarts students. Neville will blow his whistle when we are to begin."

Most people were still changing their robes all black when a whistle on the other side of the maze sounded. Luna began directing everyone who was ready to go inside the maze and start fighting. Unlike Tasha, I had no sense of direction at all, and so I was counting on the low walls to get me through.

Brenda wasn't too far from me, and not wanting to hurt her, I sent the tickling jinx at her instead.

"Can't just use that on us, Barry," Brenda responded as she giggled.

I was suddenly hit from behind with the boil curse, and I let out a yelp as they erupted all over my skin. I turned to see the source only to see it was Brianne grinning at me. Before I could even raise my wand, she took off running, sending a jinx as Luna as she went. Brenda took my distraction as an opportunity to hit me back with a tickling jinx.

"You'd be dead by now, Barry," Luna whispered to me as she arrived by my side. "You can't just stand in one spot distracted. Go on."

She wasn't wrong, and I vowed from that moment on to keep my head in the game. I had a feeling that Brianne and Brenda had planned this. They knew it would be hard for me to jinx them properly. I was going to remind them later that in a real battle, I wouldn't be worried about jinxing real enemies back. However, as much as she wanted to deny it, tickling jinx could be a good distraction as it was hard to move because you were overcome with laughter.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only person who made mistakes as we continued the battle. Many people weren't too happy with randomly hexing people they were friendly with, even if we did have antidotes on hand. I didn't want to hex my sisters or Nick, and it was hard to push that aside. I tried to see it as a Hogwarts Duelling club if we ever got one. Nick and I would likely duel a lot, and perhaps I would duel with my sisters too.

I wasn't sure how long we were in battle for before Neville blew his whistle. Luna had the antidotes on hand for anyone who needed one. Once we'd all taken some, we all grouped together to wait for more instructions.

"Well, that was…" Neville began.

"-a disaster," Ginny added. "But we know where we need to improve. I know it's hard to see friends as enemies, but if we want to be prepared, we have to do this."

"We could wear masks," Luna suggested. "Perhaps that will make it easier for us. We won't know who we're hexing."

That wasn't a bad idea at all, and many people agreed with her. There was a murmur around the group that many people liked that idea.

"But we also have to be careful about distraction after we get hit too," Neville said. "I noticed many of you stop. In a real battle, it's about continuing and trusting your instincts no matter what. It's literally life or death, and a Death Eater will not hesitate to send a killing curse at you."

"When we were fighting near the Astronomy tower, a big Death Eater was sending the killing curse all over the place. I think the only reason we survived was that we'd taken Harry's liquid luck. We won't have that on our side next time," Ginny told us. "We'll continue with these mock battles in the next meetings. Don't get used to your teammates as you won't always be paired up with the same people. It's always going to be random."

"I like these mock battles, but when are we going to start recruiting more people and everything else?" Philip asked. "Carrow tried to stun me yesterday for commenting on his looks. I'm tired of sitting back and doing nothing."

Gretchen suddenly giggled.

"That's not exactly laying low, though," she said.

"Well, he wanted me to hex a first year in detention," Philip said. "And that's another reason why I am tired of laying low."

"We were going to talk about that next," Luna told him. "The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch Match is coming up soon. We need some volunteers to put posters and graffiti around the corridors. We'd have done it today, but the three of us would be suspects."

"Unfortunately, all three of us have to be at the Quidditch game," Ginny said. "I'm on the team, but they'll assume it's us if we stay behind anyway. They'll see it as a rebellion to getting caught."

"But surely you know they'll still know you're involved," Zacharias Smith pointed out.

"Yes, but they can't prove that as we were all at the game," Ginny told him. "We'd actually like to ask anyone who wasn't a former DA member to do this. They won't know who to go after if we're all there."

Nick and I volunteered instantly, and so did my sisters. I wasn't too surprised to see Brenda volunteer this time. She seemed intent on making up for her past mistakes. It said a lot as she was a prefect. I remembered a time when she threatened that once she was a prefect, we were all going to have to watch out. Philip and Darren did as well as the girls and several others. Brianne assured them that her friends would want in on it as well.

I knew it said a lot that Brianne was willing to miss a Quidditch game as well. She'd been looking forward to seeing the school games since Nick, and I had told her about our first Quidditch match. She'd volunteered without hesitation. I just hoped she realized that while she was part of these mock battles, she wouldn't be fighting in a real one anytime soon.

"Luna will tell the Ravenclaw's their tasks, Ernie will tell the Hufflepuffs and we'll tell the Gryffindors," Neville said.

"We'll have the next meeting soon," Ginny said. "The wait won't be as long, but we need to make sure that it doesn't interfere with Quidditch."

"I'm surprised you're still on the team," a girl said from behind.

"I think it's only a matter of time," Ginny said. "They probably want to leave something to punish me with now that I can't go to Hogsmeade. I don't really care. It's a good distraction, but it's the least of my worries right now."

"Just try to continue to find new hexes and jinxes," Neville told us. "We'll have a meeting where we can learn from each other. We'd also like you to think of creative ways to deflect hexes or jinxes besides the shield charm. It doesn't always work. The Death Eaters we fought used objects to block some of our spells. At the Ministry, Dumbledore used a statue to protect Harry. We should learn how to do that too."

"Maybe Barry could just brew us some Felix Felicis. He's Slughorn's golden boy," Nick said.

"That potion is complicated even for me," I responded. "Have you read how to make it? It takes six months to make, and I don't have the time for that. Maybe you oughta give it a go. You're doing well in Potion's this year."

"We're learning to conjure large objects," Terry said. "We could learn how to conjure boulders, maybe."

"You realize how hard that would be?" Ernie asked him.

"Good time to practice, then don't you think?" Terry asked.

"Anything that helps," Ginny said. "The Death Eaters are going to expect that we're beginners, even us. We weren't as skilled as them when we fought with them, especially at the Ministry. Most of us were taken out right away even after being in the DA. It's why we want to prepare all of you. Harry wasn't wrong when he told us that a lot of it was luck. You don't know what you're doing half the time except trying to stay alive. You lot were reluctant to hit each other with curses. It won't be the same if we fight."

"I still doubt Potter is going to show up here," Zacharias said.

"We still might have to fight," Neville told him. "None of us expected to fight when we did. Luna and I were the only ones to respond to the coins last year. Most of the DA didn't expect we would need them again. Even if Harry doesn't return, we might still need to fight."

"I think it should just be sixth and seventh years fighting," I said.

"Anyone in fifth year as well!" Brenda protested, and many others agreed with her.

"Third year," Brianne said, but I wasn't the only one to say no. Anyone fifth year and older protested this.

"I think fifth year and older, and maybe the fourth years," Lavender said.

"Then what is the point in even teaching us then?" Brianne demanded. "If I have to fight for my life or my friends, I will."

"Only if you don't have a choice," Ginny told her. "If there is a way to keep the younger years safe, we will do it if we have time. We're letting you learn this just in case you're in a situation where you don't have a choice but to fight."

"Then teach us Patronuses, please," she said. "Mum and dad tried to over the summer, but none of us could do it. We know you lot know how to do it."

"That's a good idea," Luna suddenly said. "We'll do that at one of the meetings too. They are quite nice. Maybe we can even start at the next meeting after our mock battle."

"It is a good idea…" Ginny said slowly. "The Order has a way to communicate with them. If we could figure that out, we could communicate with each other that way too, just in case."

"I can find that out," Michael Corner suddenly said. "I've been reading up on them anyway. There was a Dementor attack not too far from my place. I think we should learn it before the Christmas Break for those of us who are going home."

I was glad that he volunteered before anyone could look to me, but I was also glad Brianne brought it up. I still couldn't do it, and maybe with their help, I could learn. It would be great to learn how to communicate with them. I considered asking mum and dad, but I worried about their follow up questions, and I didn't want to lie to them either. Not in these times. It was one thing to keep the DA from them, but it was another to start telling lies. So I just kept quiet as Michael had already volunteered anyway.

"I don't see why we can't do both," Neville said. "We'll wait before we have long battles. We're not ready for that yet anyway. We'll start doing that stuff more after Christmas. That's enough time for all of you to learn as many spells as you can."

"And other ways to block spells," Luna reminded us.

The meeting broke up shortly after that. It wasn't until we were in the common room later when I realized that we still didn't know much about what happened in the Headmasters office. The trio had purposely kept the subject from coming up. I wondered if there was more to it than they were letting on.


	48. Sixth Year Part Four

Several of us, including Nick and Brianne, were giving the task of writing: Dumbledore's Army: Still recruiting! On the walls during the Quidditch Match. Others such as Brenda were given the task to put up offensive posters about Snape, the Carrows and some pureblood families need for incest to keep their blood pure. Other defended muggles and muggleborns as well as some making fun of the muggleborn regime.

I knew some of the posters were definitely going too far. I understood now why they wanted to make sure all the known DA members had an alibi. Some of Brianne's friends, including Hilda, were given the task to distract Filch and Peeves from noticing what we were doing. Philip shut Mrs. Norris in a broom closet to keep her from going off to find Filch.

"We'll let her out later," he said to Brianne's protests. "She'll be fine. We have a cat at home, and sometimes we have to lock her up when some guests come over. Besides, that cat always rats students out."

"But it's not her fault, you know," Brianne said. "It's the way she was trained. She's just doing what Filch taught her. She's an innocent animal. She's already been petrified. It's not fair to keep being mean to her. Take it out on Filch."

"We're not being mean to her," Philip said kindly. "Damn, you're almost like a mini Tasha. I've missed her nagging."

I had as well, and I did my best not to think about her. While school was very unpleasant, it was a distraction, and I could be grateful that she was somewhere safe. From what dad had told me so far, no one found it suspicious that his cousin was in hiding, and none of the Death Eaters had come looking for him. So Tasha was safe.

"I just hate seeing the way everyone treats her," Brianne said. "She's a cat. She doesn't know any better. Make sure you let her out. I'm learning some good hexes and jinxes now, you know."

Philip chuckled and gave her a pat on the head.

"I'll let her out," he told her. "Now we should all get going. The game will be starting soon, and we know they can last for twenty minutes. The girls might not be able to distract Filch and Peeves for long either."

We all knew we didn't have much time, so as soon as he said this, we all departed. Brianne had fun writing on the wall in flashing colours. It was certainly going to get noticed. Nick not only wrote: Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting, he wrote curse words as well as offensive things about the Carrows.

"That one is disgusting!" Brianne told him as she read his latest message. "You're going to get expelled."

"They won't expel me, they'll just beat me up again," Nick said. "I'll never forget what they did. They deserve it and let's face it; they're too close as a brother and sister to be natural. Besides, they have to prove it was me, and this isn't in my handwriting."

"Still," Brianne said with a smirk. "We should go just in case. We don't want to be caught near that."

We'd done most of the castle's most used corridors and secret passages, so we decided to depart for the Quidditch game just in case. Brianne had peeked out the window to see that it was still going on. I just hoped the others would make sure they were somewhere that people could vouch for them. People might remember who wasn't at the game.

The Carrows were furious about the graffiti on the wall. They were out to get anyone who might have anything to do with the messages. As Ginny predicted, they tried to go for anyone who was a former DA member. As they all had an alibi, they couldn't pin it on anyone. Instead, they began stopping students in the corridors and forced them to empty their pockets and bags to exam their galleons if they had any.

As I was a rich boy to them, I made sure I kept it locked in my trunk during the school day and only brought it out in the evenings unless I went to the library. I knew there was a good chance that I could miss a message, but the Carrows were targeting me and anyone else who had money. They thought we'd be the ones to try and hide it among normal galleons the most. I'd been searched three times in one day.

"How long do you think it can go on for?" Brianne asked me in late November as she joined Nick, Brenda and I in the common room. I quickly cast the muffliato charm just in case.

She'd just been searched not only in the library by Amycus but then on her way to the common room from Alecto. She looked close to tears, but she kept them back. I wanted to go find them and hex them for putting the tears in her eyes.

"As long as we remain active," I said. "We'll just have to chance leaving it behind and hope someone will tell us. They need to slow down soon, and there isn't any more evidence. I see why Ginny thought it was best to lay low."

"Well, I wasn't the only one to write offensive messages about Alecto and Amycus," Nick said with a chuckle. "Almost everyone has noticed how close they are. I wish I'd been as creative as that one written in the Entrance Hall. Whoever did it is my hero."

"And the funny thing is, Snape seems more angry about the graffiti about the DA. He hasn't even said a word about the other ones at all. I overheard Alecto complaining to him about it today, and he just waved it off," Brianne said, laughing as well. "He probably knows it's true too."

"But they're not even watching the Room of Requirement," Brenda said. "That's the odd thing. Why aren't they watching it? I do patrols up there a lot of the time, and I don't even see any Slytherin's up there."

"Maybe they don't want to be obvious about it," Nick said. "They want to catch us at it, and if they hang out up there all the time, we're not going to try anything. I think they're going to try and do what Umbridge did and try to catch us at a meeting eventually. They're waiting for us to let our guard down."

"That's probably what it is," I said. "We might have to bring that up at the next meeting."

"They've probably already figured it out," Nick said.

We didn't have a meeting right after the match. It was until the beginning of December when we had another. Luna's father had just printed a very controversial article in the Quibbler about certain pureblood families. Most of the Quibbler articles printed the truth that the Daily Prophet wasn't willing to print these days. Between her part in the Headmasters Office, the graffiti (even though she was seen at the game supporting Gryffindor), and the articles, she was being watched a lot more.

The trio decided we would have a battle first and then work on our patronuses before we discussed anything. This time I was a Hogwarts student, but we were also given a mask with the Hogwarts crest on it. We turned our robes all black so no one would see what house we were in. Ernie had managed to make masks that looked similar to the Death Eater ones. They, too, turned their robes all black.

While I knew that none of these people genuinely wanted to hurt me (at least I was sure of it), it was much easier to attack them with the masks. The only thing that worried me was that I could end up attacking Brenda without knowing it. She was a Death Eater this time, but I couldn't find her in the crowd.

Our second round went a lot better than our first round. It did make it easier with the walls were low. Neville, Ginny, and Luna were already trying to figure out a way to see if they could ask the room to make them a bit higher so we could see each other. They were still worried that we could end up in battle at Hogwarts rather than outside, where we would always see our opponent.

"We can't forget about secret passages as well," Zacharias Smith pointed out after the battle. "Most of the Death Eaters came here, so they probably know where they are."

"Yes, we do need to remember that they can be an advantage and a disadvantage," Neville said, agreeing with him. "We should always expect that they could be hiding in one if it ends up being here."

"Maybe we could ask the room to provide those too," Luna said thoughtfully.

"Well, let's start on patronuses and then we can discuss all that later," Ginny said. "We do need to be careful in case they are hoping to catch us a meeting. Neville is trying to figure out to make the room more secure."

"Well, I think our problem is solved for higher walls," Brenda suddenly said.

We'd all been standing with our backs to the maze when she said this. We all turned to see that at some point, while we were distracted, the walls rose higher. It was now taller than even the tallest students, which included me.

"Do you think it made the secret passages as well?" Luna asked.

"We'll check that out later," Ginny said. "Let's make it so that this is always here when we come here. We'll just need more room for meetings. Now the incantation for the Patronus is Expecto Patronum-" and she went on to explain that we needed to use a happy memory.

I'd never been able to do it in the summer, and I didn't expect to be able to do now. I wasn't wrong. Somehow while we were all dividing ourselves up to practice, the room had made itself larger without us noticing. I wondered exactly what it would do for us. It didn't seem able to provide water for when we needed breaks. Someone always had to make sure we had pitchers to fill with water.

"Are you sure you're using your happiest memory?" Luna asked. "What about memories with Tasha? Are there any from last year?"

"Why last year?" I asked, wondering if she knew.

I had a feeling she did, and she was implying that I should use the memory from when Tasha and I kissed. Before it ended, I'd been thrilled that it was happening. I'd been avoiding the memory so far not only because of how it made me felt but because the aftermath hadn't been the best. And lately, I was wondering if Nick was right. What if she did like me back, and I'd left her hanging? So I wasn't sure if it was the best memory.

"It won't hurt to try," she said in response. "The worst that will happen is that it won't work."

And then she walked off. Was she right? Would the memory of kissing Tasha be the one I could use to make it work? I waited a few moments before trying it. I thought of the moment when we kissed and said: "Expecto Patronum!"

To my surprise, it finally worked. A small piglet appeared and flew around the room. Many people stopped to admire it as they did with other patronuses. They watched its progress as it came over to me. I smiled as I reached out to touch it. I wasn't sure what to think of having a piglet as a patronus, but I liked it. It disappeared before I could even touch it.

"And that's the memory that worked," Nick said to me. "That should tell you something right there."

I didn't say anything. All I knew was that I missed her a lot, and I wished I'd taken my chance when I could have. I was going to do whatever I could to take it when we were back in each other's lives. I'd used our friendship as an excuse for long enough. If she wasn't interested, she would never end our friendship. I just needed to man up and do it.

I just continued to practice on my patronus instead of responding to anyone else's comments who'd overheard Luna and I. I wasn't displeased with them, and I was glad that they could have something to tease me about. Still, I was deep in my thoughts about Tasha and the last Christmas party. Slughorn was still going to host one before we left for the holidays. I wished more than anything that I could go back to last year and change everything about the memory. It may have helped me produce a patronus, but it reminded me of what an idiot I was as well.

By the time Neville blew his whistle, I was able to produce it every single time. I just hoped I'd be able to do it in front of a real dementor.

"That went surprisingly well," Neville said at the end. "More of you were able to produce it. As for the rest of you, please try to practice when you can. I overheard that they might put Dementors around the entrances of the secret passages. They were already sealed up, but apparently, some third years tried to use the one-eyed statue last week, and they were caught the moment they tried to take the jinxes off."

"So they're going to set Dementors at it just because a couple of kids might sneak into Hogsmeade?" Seamus asked. "Do you know how many times we snuck into Hogsmeade through there after we found out about it?"

"I think they're worried the DA might try to sneak Harry through," Ginny said. "It's common knowledge now that he knew where they were, and that he has an invisibility cloak."

"I don't think the Dementors will be in the school, but there might be Death Eaters," Luna said. "They're already guarding the entrances. I bet the Dementors will be outside."

"Not really any better, Luna," Terry Boot said.

"As bad as it will be to have them there, they won't do anything," Brenda said. "The Death Eaters will be here under You-Know-Who's orders, and they are probably the lower tier people. They're still dangerous, but most of us could probably take them on, and they won't act unless Snape, the Carrows, or You-Know-Who tells them to. They'll just be very unpleasant."

"I'd still be alert around them," Neville said. "If they're willing to put Dementors back at Hogwarts, they'll use them to attack us. They've been easy on us. Things are just warming up. I heard Carrow telling Filch the other day to bring out the shackles. Filch always has them ready. He was going to whip Fred and George under Umbridge's orders. He's not stupid; he knows they'll kill him in a moment. The only reason he is still here is because he hates students, and he wants to hurt them. If it weren't for that, he'd have been murdered the first day I bet."

"But is this for sure?" Hilda asked. "You said you only overheard; maybe it's a last resort."

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Ginny said. "I have a feeling they're going to make a lot of changes once the Christmas holidays start. For any of you who are staying here, please practice and keep safe. We plan to have more meetings before Christmas, but in case we don't, I ask that of everyone. I've just- I've had a bad feeling about these holidays. They've been cruel in classes and detentions, but I still feel like they're just letting us get away with this."

Lately, I'd been feeling the same way, and I wondered if everyone else did as well. Things did almost seem too easy for us. And we all knew they were watching our three leaders, but mainly Luna. What if they set Dementors around the entrance of the Room of Requirement?

"What if they plan to set them outside of this room?" Michael Corner asked my unanswered question.

"I'm trying to figure out if there is a way around that," Neville said. "We've already seen that it will do what we ask it do. It's provided us with books, a place to fight in, and this area here. It doesn't seem to be able to provide snacks or water."

"I've wondered about that," Luna asked. "Perhaps we're not asking for water the right way. Maybe we need to ask it to provide a way for us to get water."

"As in a sink?" Zacharias asked.

"Yes, maybe we just-" Luna began but stopped as sink formed against the wall to the right of us.

Ginny strolled over to test the taps.

"It works, well, that is another problem solved," she said, coming back to us. "And I've been thinking; maybe we could set up some obstacles in the maze as well — nothing as big as what Harry had to get through, but enough that will stop us. The Death Eaters, as well as our side, will use objects as well. We've all seen what McGonagall can do. I hate to bring up the Fake Moody, who helped bring this all on, but he was right. We need to be on our guard, and we need to learn how to be on guard."

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Nick shouted, which caused several people to laugh.

"People might get angry with me for saying this," Gretchen began. "But maybe we should take what the Carrows are teaching us seriously, but not on each other. Maybe none of the three unforgiveables, but a lot of those hexes and jinxes they're showing us are ones they might use on us. I don't mean on each other, or other kids, but we should maybe remember them."

"We could make targets for that," Michael said. "It's not a bad idea at all. We can't be afraid to use darker hexes and jinxes. They'll be able to fight the boil curse, no doubt. Whatever that curse Harry used on Malfoy was really bad, and likely more of them know it."

"We've been thinking of that as well," Neville said. "Luna brought it up when we first began talking about starting up the DA again. We just didn't want you lot to use them against each other. I don't know why we didn't think of targets. We need to be careful with them though. Some of them are very dangerous. We'll need to read up on all of their counter curses before we do."

They began giving out some assignments to some DA members before they started to let us go a few people at a time. We were given instructions to keep an eye on the coin at all times, but to be sure not to carry them on us between classes. Neville was hoping they would think we abandoned the coins for another source of communication, and they would stop searching us.

"We'll be sending more messages between now and Christmas," Neville had said. "We want to prepare ourselves for the holidays, just in case. You never know if our families will be attacked when we're at home. We'll be able to protect them as well, even the younger kids. But we're also going to ask people to keep spreading the word between now and then as well."

Brianne complained for days afterward that Neville's view on how she could protect the family was fine, but she couldn't join in with us if Harry Potter joined up.

"What difference does it make if I fight with the family or if I fight in a battle here?" She kept asking.

"Because Brianne, you won't have a choice if they attack our home," I finally said after getting annoyed by her constant complaints. "There is no way we are going to send a bunch of eleven to thirteen-year-olds willingly into battle! If I had it my way, Brenda wouldn't be going either."

We'd had a few more recruits at our meeting who our leaders had sworn into secrecy the moment they entered. Two were first-year Gryffindor girls, and the other was a second-year Gryffindor boy. No doubt, we'd end up having more of the younger ones join in.

"Barry, if you were my age, you'd want to fight as well," she said. "You and Nick would be planning to figure out a way, just as you did when you wanted to join the Goblet of Fire. Don't be such a hypocrite, please."

"And Chester, Ralph, and Garth wouldn't help me," I said. "They knew we were going to sneak in, but they wouldn't put our names for us. They just looked the other way, and this is different."

"I don't see how," Brianne said. "A student died, remember?"

"It's still very different, Brianne," I told her. "You can't compare a bunch of kids making an aging potion to willingly letting fourth years and younger into a fight with grown-ass people! Stop fighting about this, and be glad you're learning to fight so you can be prepared."

For the first time in a year, Brianne and I were having an actual fight. She stood up, angrily and walked off.

"She'll get over it," Nick told me. "She'd be against it if Ben was in first year right now."

"Deep down, she even knows it's different, and she knows why she can't fight," I said.

It still didn't stop her from avoiding me for days afterwards, though. I knew she was fine, though, so I let her be and focused on my school work. I was seriously considering dropping the kids I was tutoring as none of them were taking it seriously, and I had enough on my plate. It was frustrating when people didn't want to learn, and I didn't envy the teachers one bit. I had to give credit to McGonagall, who'd seen it all.

I broke the news to the three of them one evening in a back corner of the library before another DA meeting, but none of them seemed put out about this.

"Wait, we wanted to ask you something," Jeff said once Eileen left. I'd been about to go as well. "We've been trying to talk to some of the older students, but it's hard who to trust and who not to. We know we can trust you. We just hope you feel the same."

"About what?" But I had a feeling I knew what they wanted to ask.

"Write it down," Roy told Jeff. "And then burn it after. We don't want to be talking about it in here."

Jeff nodded before writing something down on a piece of parchment and then pushing it toward me. Sure enough, it read:

Are you part of the DA? We'd like to join.

While the secrecy spell prevented me from telling untrustworthy people, it did give me lenience to recruit people. Ernie MacMillan had pointed out that we needed to be able to tell people to recruit them. Not everyone knew about the Room of Requirement, or it's location, and we expected for students to ask us. So we'd adjusted the spell so that we could tell people in order to recruit them. They were sworn into secrecy the moment we told them. Ernie had figured out a way that once we told them, they were part of it temporarily until we brought them into it for real.

I quickly wrote down the location of the Room of Requirement and the time we'd be meeting at the next day. I also noted that they should be very cautious as anyone could be watching. Most of us still expected Snape to bring back the Inquisitorial Squad. I'd noticed Harper watching us a lot more lately.

 _Don't tell anyone else._ I added at the bottom. If you want more people to come, tell me, otherwise keep it to yourselves.

I didn't bother to tell them that they were secretly bound, but I wanted to give them the warning just in case. They weren't given any leniency with the spell as they could rush off right away and tell someone. Ernie indeed was smart, and it seemed he'd never been given much credit before. I didn't understand how he managed to change parts of the spell, but it seemed something Hermione Granger would do.

I burnt the piece of parchment quickly and then stood up.

"Well, I'll see you two around," I said.

"Thanks for the help… and everything," Jeff said.

I walked off, feeling happy to have helped the DA, but I did worry that they were spies. I knew they were against You-Know-Who, but this was a world where it was every man for himself and his family. Some people would sell out others just to protect themselves and their families, even if they didn't want to. I knew I was likely overly paranoid for no reason, but it was still there.

* * *

The leaders of the DA had put in a lot of work since the last meeting. The space provided for us was even more extensive than the previous time. More sinks had sprouted out along the walls with glasses near them, as well as towels and even soap. The maze now rose to the ceiling with targets along its outside walls for us to practice some of the darker spells. Someone (who I would later learn was Terry Boot) had created Death Eater masks that looked realistically like the real thing. He'd also created simple masks with the Hogwarts crest on them for those who would be Hogwarts students.

We were all to wear our hoods up, and Luna requested the girls wear their hair up under their hoods so no one would know their gender.

"I've noticed boys are more hesitant to hex girls," she explained when Padma Patil asked why. "We all want to be anonymous to each other."

"She's right," Ginny said. "I've noticed the boys go easier on the girls too. We need to disguise ourselves as much as we can, and we need to pretend that we're in a real battle. Today's fight is going to be harder than usual. There are some obstacles in there, some we created, and some the room created. Not even we know which ones the room made. So remember, Constant Vigilance! It's the same thing the real Moody would tell us, too, if he were still alive. Luna and I will divide everyone up while Neville brings our new members in on the secret."

Jeff and Roy weren't the only new kids there. Three Hufflepuff first years were there as well. They seemed nervous as the attention went on them, but Luna reassured them that things were fine before leading them over to Neville. Brenda was eying Roy and Jeff with dislike, and I hoped she wasn't going to make things hard for them. She still didn't get along with a lot of the people in her year.

I was a Hogwarts student again, but Nick was among the Death Eaters with Brenda. Brianne still really wasn't talking to me, but she came over to stand by my side as she was named a Hogwarts student. Once we all had the masks over our heads, and our hoods up, it truly was hard to see who was who.

There were more than two entrances around the maze now, and we were told to all go in different entrances one at a time by Luna or Ginny. When I entered the maze in an entrance to the far left of the maze, I found that it was completely different than the other times. While it always had castle walls, this truly felt like I was in the school corridors. There were torches, different doorways, paintings, and statues along the walls. I was so busy gazing at all this as I walked down the corridors that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.

A statue suddenly jumped out in front of me.

"Fuck!" I shouted as I jumped back.

It began walking back and forth in front of me, not allowing me to go around it or back. Whenever I did, it would move faster just to block my way, no matter how fast I went. I knew I had to stop it; otherwise, I was open season for any Death Eater who came this way.

Finally, it came to me: "Impedimenta!" I shouted as I heard footsteps coming in my direction.

The statue stopped in its tracks just as someone ran around the corner. Immediately, I pointed my wand at them but lowered it when I realized it was just a Hogwarts student.

"I was hoping you were a Death Eater," they said. "It trapped me earlier. I think that's the Room of Requirement trap. It's already gone back to its niche."

I knew the voice well enough to know that it was Gretchen. I turned to see that she was right, indeed. The statue had already moved back into position for the next person. It could have been one of the DA members, but I had a feeling it was a Room of Requirement trick as well. It seemed very advanced.

"Let's go before they do come," I told her. "Was there anything that way?"

"I've been hiding out in a passageway, pretending to be a wall," she responded. "Barry, I'm not good at this. I don't think I'll do well in a real battle. I'm always taken out, and I think sometimes it's from people who still dislike me."

"That's when you fight back harder, and be careful about names. If you found a passageway to hide in, no doubt a Death Eater did as well," I told her.

"Anyone who knows you will know it's you," she said. "And I bet you know who I am."

"Doesn't matter, I think we're supposed to be careful about that in here," I told her. "Anyway, I'm rubbish as well. I can't fight as fast as some of these people can."

"But you are improving," she said and then she put her finger to her lips before sticking her head in the wall. "No one there," she added before pulling back out.

"Is that the one you were hiding in?" I asked her.

"No, it was further down, but I heard you yell fuck. You can tell it's there just by looking at the wall. It's much darker than the castle walls. The Room of Requirement is great, but it doesn't do too well at hiding them. It's nice that we spot them, but so can others. I wish they looked more realistic."

And as she said this, the fake wall blended right into its surrounding walls.

"I've always been around magic, but I'm always amazed by what it can do," she said as we began walking again with our wands out. "Anyway, I'll admit when we first started all this, you were terrible, but you and Nick have improved so much. You'd do well in a real battle. I might end up dead."

"It's why we're doing this, Gretchen. All these meetings are preparing us. You got past the statue, and using the statue as a way to go after your opponent is smart too. So is hiding in a passageway. You've always been good at sneaking around for gossip or stealing Luna's things. Use your evil to your advantage for once."

"My evil? Really? Whatever. I guess it's not bad advice, but I'd still like to be a better dueller," she said.

She didn't have much longer to guess how she'd do in a real duel. Just as we were about to turn a corner in the maze, two Death Eaters stepped out from behind a large blue tapestry. We didn't have time to think, we both cast shield charms as they cast some kind or orange jinx at us. It meant they were either sixth or seventh years, as not too many people knew how to do non-verbal spells.

If there was one thing I was mastering, it was non-verbal spells, and I was about to see how well I could use them in a fight. Both Death Eaters jumped back as their curses bounced back at them. I took the time to take down my shield charm and to shoot a stunning curse at the Death Eater closest to me. They, too, used a shield charm to deflect it. Gretchen surprised me, though, she moved the statue closest to us in front of us as it bounced back.

I took advantage of the others' distraction by the statue and shot a stunner at them that hit them. The other Death Eater tried to run once they realized their mate was down, but I waved my wand, and they were lifted up by their ankle and were left hanging upside down.

"What were you just saying? That statue trick worked!" I told her as we walked off. "You're clever in a battle."

"So are you," she said. "But come on, let's go find more Death Eaters. Should we let that other one down?"

"They'll know the counter curse, we learned it," I said. "Let's go before more sneak up on us again. We were distracted last-"

Gretchen let out a shriek as one of the stones from the castle wall shot out across from us. The two of us exchanged glances before we made our way forward slowly in case more rocks shot out. We both knew that we had to stop our conversation now. If we'd been more alert, we might have noticed the Death Eaters before they'd surprised us.

We right to be alert as we would have walked right into a group of Death Eaters a few turns later. We turned into another corridor instead, where we found a few Hogwarts students who raised their wands at us but lowered them when they realized who we were.

"Are the Death Eaters still over there?" One of them whispered.

"We're trying to figure out how to get them," another added.

"They're still there," Gretchen whispered back. "But they were whispering together too. Maybe they're planning to attack you lot too."

"Probably," another said, who sounded a lot like Hilda. "They saw us first, but the other way is a dead end. We have no choice but to go to them."

"But maybe it's a secret passage," I whispered back.

"No, we tried," another Hogwarts students said. "We're trapped here. But how did you get down here this way without them noticing?"

"They seemed really into their conversation, but I also put a silencing spell on our footsteps, but it wore off. I've never been good with silencing spells, but it's harder non verbally," Gretchen explained.

"But we can do that! Why didn't we think of that? It's so obvious," someone else said excitedly.

I was going to have to tell Gretchen later again never to doubt herself. She knew strategy, and she could probably help the DA with that. I would talk to Luna later as well. Gretchen would tell me later it was because she felt more confident in a group, but I didn't care. If she was fighting for her life, she'd know what to do. We all knew this wasn't real, and while it was easier to see the Death Eaters as enemies, we all knew we weren't going to die.

We all put silencing charms on our shoes and helped those who could do it before we made our way down the hall. I was just hoping they weren't thinking of doing the same. It was an obvious thing to do, after all.

They were six Death Eaters altogether and nine of us. We'd all agreed on stunning them all at once as it would be easier to take them all out, and to get by. They all looked up in surprise before our stunners hit them all. We all hugged and gave each other high fives as we walked passed them and to a different corridor.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Someone, a male, asked as we rounded the corner.

There were even more Death Eaters grouped together with their wands pointed at us."

"Shame, they all went down, but we figured we'd need back up just in case," the Death Eater continued.

One of the Hogwarts students sent a spell at him though this was a terrible idea. The other Death Eaters reacted quickly, and soon enough, we were in a real duel. No one knew who was who, and now I understood what Ginny had meant when she'd said it had all been luck. I was keeping up, though I didn't understand how.

Gretchen tried her statue trick again, but this time, it was a bad idea. Just as the statue jumped in front of one of the smaller Hogwarts students, the wall began to make loud snapping sounds as cracks appeared and snaked up the wall. Everyone screamed as the wall started to crumble, and it truly was every man for himself as we all scattered.

I managed to escape down a secret passage by sheer luck. I could see the corridor was clear as day inside, but not for long as the entrance suddenly blocked from all the fallen stones. I had no choice but to go the other way, and I truly hoped I wasn't trapped inside. Surely the room would eventually help me find a way out, even if I could potentially get trapped in a real battle.

There was very little light in the passage, so I lit my wand and continued down it. It felt very cold and damp, and I wondered where it was taking me too. Ahead of me was a turn, but I also thought I saw some light, so I switched off my wand and made my way forward. Once I turned, it was to see some dim lighting at the far end. I felt as if the passage was much longer than the actual maze itself as I made my way to the light. I was relieved as I got closer to see that it was indeed a way out.

When I stepped out, I had no idea where I was. It was a completely different part of the maze. With my wand out, I began making my way down the corridor slowly. I felt very vulnerable without anyone on my side. What if I walked into another group of Death Eaters?

I let out a yell as a painting suddenly fell down onto the floor in front of me. I wanted to ask the Room if it was trying to kill us or something. It seemed to have come up with some obstacles that could truly hurt us.

My yelled drew attention to a Death Eater ahead of me, but remembering what Gretchen had done, I used the painting to my advantage. I quickly used it as a shield as they shot a stunner at me. The painting let out a loud sizzle before it exploded, behaving almost like fireworks as sparks flew everywhere.

"Brilliant," the Death Eater said. "I never knew that could happen."

I used the levicorpus curse on him before walking off. I heard his wand clatter to the floor as I moved.

"Hey come on, don't leave me like this, I dropped my wand!"

I was almost certain it was Philip, but it sounded as he'd use a voice disguiser spell, so his voice sounded gruffer than usual, almost as he heavily smoked or something.

A whistle suddenly blew, so taking pity on him, I turned and used the counter curse on him. He fell to the ground and then stood up, rubbing his head as he did so.

"Couldn't have done it, gentler?" He asked, pulling his Death Eater mask off, and indeed, it was Philip smirking at me.

"My bet is you're Barry, you're about his height," he said. "Battle is over, Barry. Time to reveal yourself."

I lowered my hood and pulled my mask and grinned down at him.

"I knew it was you the moment I saw you," he said. "You did that to me earlier too, you know. At least you didn't leave me this time."

"You were a Death Eater, and you'd do the same to me," I responded. "Funny, I got you twice, though. Who was with you?"

"I don't know. We didn't tell each other our names. Ginny told us all to use voice changer spells, so we did. We had an advantage over you lot," Philip said.

"I could tell it was you still," I said. "You just sounded like you smoked heavily."

"Ah, really? I was hoping to sound like an old man. I'll have to work harder on that," Philip said. "We overheard Gretchen saying she wouldn't win in a battle, but I don't know who she is kidding. She did really well. Where is she?"

I explained about what happened when we ran into the pocket of Death Eaters.

"Yeah, Ginny told us to do that. She had some of us go alone, but she had most of us group together. She figured Luna would send in the Hogwarts students one of two as a time. The Room of Requirement really outdid itself, though. I think that painting trick was one of theirs, but the rocks falling down? Didn't that happen last year? And I had two statues attack me. I think the one was humping me, but I'm not too sure," Philip said.

I laughed at this. Ahead of us were large red arrows showing us the way out. They'd suddenly appeared there, and I wondered if someone asked for help to get out. They certainly did make it easier to follow, and moments later, we were back into the regular part of the room. I was relieved to see Gretchen exiting just ahead. She saw me as well and quickly ran over to hug me. I'd never thought I would see the day when we would embrace in relief this way.

"I thought you got crushed by the walls at first!" She said.

"I thought you did as well," I said. "I lost track of you the moment it fell, and I only found a passageway by mistake. The stones all blocked the entrance."

"Well, I kind of was," Gretchen said as she began brushing out her hair. "But they didn't hurt us. They felt really light. Olivia, you know your weird ex? She was crushed right under the stones, she was a Death Eater, but she was fine. She said she was buried underneath them all, but they all felt very light, like pillows, and she had no problem breathing. So the Room at least protects us from its obstacles."

I was relieved to hear that. We noticed quite a few people were injured as they joined the crowd at the front of the maze. No one was put out though. Everyone was talking excitedly about it. Several kids were cheering Brianne on for saving two people from some Death Eaters. She'd used the statues to her advantage as well, but she'd made them trap the Death Eaters so the others could escape. She sent me a superior smirk as a few seventh years told her how amazing she was.

"She's going to be rubbing that in your face," Nick said as he joined us. "I was one of the few she caught. I wasn't expecting her to trap us with them."

"She's been reading ahead in my textbooks for years," I told him. "I'm sure she picked something up on her own. She's top of her year. Both her and Ben will always have that advantage."

"Well, I'm doing the same for Noah when he's old enough then," Nick said. "Brianne does seem to know some really good spells."

"Well, they practice in their dormitory too," I said. "And I've seen them practising on the grounds a few times, even though they really shouldn't. They're determined to prove they can fight in a battle."

Nick shrugged. "Hey, if it helps them to defend themselves better, let them. We won't always be there, Barry. And there is a chance that they might have to fight because we might not be able to evacuate the castles. Sure, we can hide them in the Common Rooms, but the Death Eaters could figure out a way in. It's the same with this room. We're always trying to think of more ways to make it secure."

I knew he was right, and I was glad she was learning the spells, it was why I let it go when I saw her in the grounds. However, I still was not going to change my mind about her willingly fighting in a battle. If she had no choice, that was one thing, but she was leaving if it was possible.

Neville blew his whistle, and everyone fell silent.

"Well, today was the best so far. We're going to continue to do it this way," he told us. "The Room of Requirement really surpassed itself today. Anyone have stories to share, and ways they think things could have gone better?"

Everyone began talking at once, which caused Neville to blow his whistle again, and everyone fell silent. Ginny let out an ahem, which sounded a lot like Umbridge.

"Hands are up please," she said in a sickly sweet voice similar to Umbridge's, which caused everyone to laugh.

"Seriously," Neville said, but he was smiling. "We still want to have time to practice our patronuses."

"Daddy is printing an article in The Quibbler tomorrow about the Death Eaters and Dementors guarding the secret passages," Luna said.

"So we're almost certain it's true. So let's just talk about what went right and wrong today, and then we can practice the Patronus," Neville said.

Some people had more exciting stories to share than my own. Some were in battle for a long time; others were able to trap people both Hogwarts students and Death Eaters. Brenda was part of a group of captured Death Eaters.

"We put the silencing spell on our shoes," Hilda spoke up. "We were able to sneak up on a group of them, and we stunned them, but then that didn't end well. Some Death Eaters were waiting for us. We got into a fight, and we were buried under rocks."

"Yes, you need to expect the Death Eaters might do that," Ginny said. "And the silencing charm on our shoes is a good idea."

"I used a disillusionment charm on myself, and then I trapped several Death Eaters with the statues," Brianne said. "They never saw it coming. So even though I am a third year, I am still a great fighter as you can see!"

"Oh, let it go, Brianne," Isabella called over to her. "We'll probably get our chance anyway, and won't be too happy about it."

"She's right you know," Luna said. "

I know everyone wants to fight, but I don't think some of you realize what can really happen," Ginny added. "Even after today's fight. It is very noble and brave that several of you want to fight. I would feel the same way, and I know Harry Potter did as well, but most of the time, he didn't have a choice. That's something a lot of you don't understand."

"Oh come off it, Ginny, Harry would have fought in the first year even if he had the choice," Seamus said. "And he could have let Quirrel steal the stone, but he didn't. I don't want them to fight either, but telling them that they don't understand will frustrate them. It did for us."

"But it's all I can say because most of you don't know what it's like in a real battle," Ginny said. "That's what these mock battles are all about."

"And I did learn something from it," Brianne said. "Once you don't know who is who, it is easier to fight them. I could have been fighting my brother or sister for all I knew. I trapped Nick with a statue even though under normal circumstances, I wouldn't. I know there is potential to die, but it's a cause I'd be willing to give my life for."

"You sound like a Gryffindor more than a Ravenclaw," a fifth-year Hufflepuff boy said.

"Well, the hat seriously did consider sorting me there, but in the end, it decided Ravenclaw," Brianne answered. "But wanting to fight has nothing to do with house traits obviously. Three houses are here right now, and if we knew what Slytherins we could trust, I'm sure some of them would be in here too."

"But our answer doesn't change," Neville told her. "You're very brave for your age, and I can see the Gryffindor in you right now, but you're still too young. You and everyone fourth year and younger will not fight unless you don't have a choice. I don't care what Harry Potter did at your ages, so don't bring him up."

Brianne wasn't the only one who let out an annoyed sigh, but no one else protested. Sometimes she could be more like Brenda than I'd ever realized. She was very stubborn. Neville took advantage of her annoyance to ask more people what they'd learned from their fights. Gretchen and Hilda had already spoken up for me, so I kept quiet as the others talked.

Soon enough, we moved onto Patronuses. I could use any happy memory to produce one now, but I figured the Tasha one would be needed for a real Dementor. I mainly helped Nick and my sisters, who were still having a hard time with it. Brenda finally produced a crow, though she looked upset by this.

"Aren't they bad luck?" Brenda asked.

"Crows are ambitious birds, you know," Luna told her. "They're also cunning and resourceful. That's just a superstition that they're unlucky. It's silly to believe in things like that."

"Silly?" Brenda asked once she wandered over to talk to someone else. "She believes that Crumple Horned Snorkacks exist, but she thinks superstitions are silly? Sometimes I don't understand that girl."

"I don't think anyone does," I told her. "Just relax, all animals have good and bad meanings. I have a piglet for a patronus."

"But it's cute," Brenda said.

"I just can't do it," Brianne said.

"Why not use today as a good memory?" I asked her. "It's something to be proud of, Brianne."

"Maybe…" she said slowly.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A smile formed on her face and then she shouted out:

"Expecto Patronum!"

A tiny hummingbird exploded out of her wand.

"Well, that one is cool," Brenda said as we watched it take flight.

"So is yours," Brianne told her. "Seriously, crows are very clever animals, and your patronus is here to protect you. Don't forget that if you feel ashamed. It will protect you from a fate that's worse than death!"

"I know," Brenda muttered.

She turned away and began practising again. Ginny ended the lesson not too much longer after that.

"We're going to try and have one more meeting before the Christmas holidays. We're thinking the night before Slughorn's party. Everyone will be distracted by that; they won't be paying attention to us." she told us. "Keep an eye on your coins in case we have messages for you."

"Are we going to do anything else to rile up the Carrows?" Zacharias Smith asked.

"Possibly, just keep an eye on your coins," Ginny told him. "We're trying to think of a way to stop their detentions."

"Are you mad? Wait, yes you are, you did break into Snape's office after all," he responded. "We try to stop their detention, and we'll be in detention. I don't know how you expect anything good to come from that. I saw we just keep resisting on hexing students in detention."

"Well, now that Filch is allowed to whip kids or hang them up by shackles, we were thinking we could at least help them," Neville said. "For now, just keep standing up to the Carrows and watch your coins. We don't have anything big planned for the Christmas holidays. We have a feeling that things are going to get stricter around here, and we don't want to give them more reason to add more."

"And we think we'll need to plan something big for after the holidays anyway," Ginny said. "If we're right that something is going to happen, we can start planning something soon."

Zacharias gave a small nod, which was rare from him, and he didn't say anything else. We were dismissed a few people at a time. It was close to curfew, and so because of this, many students were in the corridors with us, returning to their Common Rooms. It wasn't until we were with the second year Ravenclaws when we figured it out.

"What happened to you two?" Susie, whom I hadn't really spoken to since the end of last year, asked us. "Did the Carrows do that?"

Nick and I glanced at each other. We hadn't bothered to clean up after the battle as there'd been a line up at the sinks. We figured we'd do it after the meeting with scourgify, but we'd both forgotten about it. I wasn't sure how I looked, but Nick was covered in boils, and he had a cut on his cheek.

"Detention, you know?" Nick answered quickly. "It's okay; we have antidotes upstairs. We've been making them ever since the Carrows decided Madam Pomfrey isn't allowed to heal us after a punishment."

Susie, Sasha, and Margaret didn't say anything, they just glanced at each other and then continued on. We immediately went up to our dorm to wash up as soon as we were inside the common room. When we came back downstairs, later on, it was to find the three girls waiting for us at our usual spot.

"We're flattered, but you're still too young," Nick told them and then winked, making all three giggle.

Sasha, who was still shy, turned red and looked down as she giggled.

"No, we just think-" Susie began and then stopped herself. "Muffliato!"

"How did you know that spell?" Nick asked, impressed.

"Brianne taught it to us," Margaret said. "We were bad-mouthing You-Know-Who in the Great Hall, and she told us we should be careful and then taught us that. Anyway, we think you're in the DA, and we want to join."

"We don't know when the next meeting is, but we will tell you when we know," Nick told her. "Don't tell anyone else outside yourselves."

"We don't trust our dorm mates," Susie said. "Sasha's parents are both in hiding because they each have a muggleborn parent, but they sent her here with us because they wanted her to still get her education. She's staying with me during the holidays. Our dorm-mates like to make fun of her about it, and we don't talk too much to the boys. I mean, they're friendly, but we don't tell them secrets."

"But isn't she in danger by being here?" Nick asked.

"She barely made it through," Susie said. "But dad was prepared to protect her anyway. She can trace some of her lineage as there are some half-bloods, and her parents are half-bloods too."

"But they're still in hiding," I said. "Won't they try to go after her for information?"

"I think her half-blood relatives are still going to work, aren't they?" Margaret asked Sasha, who nodded.

"My dad still goes to work," she said in a small voice. "But he still wants me at Hogwarts or with Susie's family. They can protect me better than he can, and he's ready to be a secret keeper at any moment. When he does, I probably will leave school."

"But we want to learn to fight," Susie said. "We know what Dumbledore's Army is."

"Well, we'll let you know, but don't tell anyone anyway," Nick said. "And don't tell anyone who is in the club either."

"Is there some kind of spell that prevents us from speaking up?" Margaret asked.

"Possibly," Nick said.

"Only we heard what happened to that Marietta girl," Susie said.

"Well, if you don't want to find out, keep the secret," I told them. "But if that's all-"

"That's all, don't worry Barry, I have a boyfriend now," Susie said as the girls stood up to leave.

Nick snorted with laughter.

"Little girls certainly love you," he said.

"It's not just me, you know," I said and then recasting muffliato just in case she'd taken it down, I continued. "I think that little Sasha girl has a crush on you. I wonder if we'll end up with everyone in Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor soon."

"I don't think so. I think some want to but are too scared to or their parents told them not to," Nick said. "Our parents told us not to even though I think they know we are in it. I'd say close to half maybe. But that's good, isn't it? It makes those battles easier."

"Sometimes it's harder when they're smaller, though," I said. "I went easier on the smaller Death Eaters over the bigger ones."

"I did too, but I still didn't care about hitting them with a boil curse, and one certainly didn't mind doing the same to me," Nick said. "You know, if we can meet up at least once a week, we'll all be really good duellers by the end of the year."

I was thinking the same. I was already trying to think of strategies for the next battle. Now that I knew what the Room was capable of doing, and how it was fighting the fake Death Eaters, I could be better prepared. Who knew what the future would bring, but I felt if a battle broke out tomorrow, I would be ready.


	49. Sixth Year Part Five

Ginny ended up cancelling our next meeting via the Galleons a few days before the end of term. No one was sure why that was, but there were many disappointed people about this. I knew the three second years were disappointed to miss their first meeting. I figured something must have come up, and they didn't want attention drawn on us.

The Carrows were relentless as the end of term neared, neither showing that they knew or cared that Christmas was approaching. People were still tortured or beaten up. For the first time ever, they didn't even decorate the Great Hall with twelve of Hagrid's giant trees. Often, the teachers decorated the corridors or classrooms with Christmas decorations, or they even let the students do so without punishment. There was nothing anywhere except some DA graffiti that the Carrows or Snape couldn't seem to remove.

Some students did try to decorate the corridors in protest, but the decorations were taken down immediately, and if the perpetrator was caught, they were put in detention.

"Think Slughorn will at least be able to decorate for his Christmas party?" I asked Nick.

"I bet it gets cancelled at the last minute," he said. "Or they crash it. I still can't believe you're taking Gretchen."

"Once you fight with someone, you gain respect for them," I told him. "And she wants to go to make some bloke jealous, so it's not about me anyway. She's using me, not that I care. I don't have anyone I want to take anyway. The one I do isn't here."

"You'd better snog her when this is all over," Nick said. "But what bloke does Gretchen want to make jealous?"

"I don't know," I responded. "I didn't care enough to ask. She's not as bad as she used to be. I don't fancy the girl. We're just hanging out."

All I knew was she'd asked me to take her as a favour to make someone jealous. I hadn't asked questions as I didn't care, but I did respect her enough to take her, even over something silly.

"So no mistletoe snogging?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"No," I answered. "Maybe you should worry about yourself. At least I can get a fake date."

"I don't need a date, and I was considering Luna, but she's going with Neville, believe it or not. I might ask Ginny, but I worry Potter will find out and will kill me. From what she has said, they're only broken up as a technicality."

Though Ginny hadn't told anyone, it did get around, and most people knew why Harry and Ginny had broken up. I respected the bloke a lot, but he certainly wasn't the brightest. Ginny had a target on her back no matter what. They all they'd dated, but even if they hadn't, he was close to her family.

"I doubt he'd care," I said. "I'm sure he has more important things on his mind right now, and he knows she is going to date. It wouldn't mean anything, but you know, she's already in the club."

"Yeah, but so am I," Nick said with a smile. "But, it's why I don't need a date, or you, to bring me."

Slughorn had heard why Nick had stunned Amycus, and he'd admired for him. He'd invited him to join the club almost immediately after, and he suddenly remembered his last name.

"I don't see why you don't just ask her," I said. "She'd probably say yes."

Nick just shrugged and looked away. No matter how old we got, he still got nervous about girls. I almost reminded him we were both going to be of age soon, but I decided against it. He'd figure it out on his own.

On the day of Slughorns Christmas Party, I went down to the Common Room early to search for some of my belongings that I couldn't find upstairs. For some reason unknown to anyone, the Carrows were actually ending the last day of classes early. No one was complaining, but we all did wonder if they were planning something. There was no way they were doing it to be nice to us.

Nick thought this would be a better time to have a DA meeting, but Ginny (who had a date already) had told him she had a bad feeling about it, and it was she'd cancelled. She wouldn't say anymore. This caused us to speculate if she'd overheard something early on. The Carrows had only just announced we'd be ending classes early the other day.

All this was on my mind as I entered the Common Room; it was to hear someone sobbing. I looked around for the source only to find Brenda on her knees on the floor and clutching the Daily Prophet. Immediately I felt scared. Had someone attacked our parents and Ben? Was it published in the Daily Prophet? They'd want to announce something like that in the Daily Prophet as we were a prominent blood traitorous family.

"Brenda? What's going on?" I asked as I knelt beside her in worry. "Are mum and dad-"

"They're fine," Brenda interrupted but then started to sob hard again. "But Kendra, she's gone, and I never got to apologize for any of it. She was such a good friend that I never deserved. And now they're all gone."

I gently took the Daily Prophet from her hands to see if I could find out what she was talking about. It wasn't long before I did. It was on the second page. It showed a recent school picture of Kendra along with a picture of her parents. They'd been found dead in a tent, but it didn't speculate much more except they likely had been there for months.

I felt instant sadness as I'd thought of this. Our parents had offered to help them when Brenda had told them their plans to go into hiding, but they'd turned it down, not wanting to put us at risk. It seemed lately that a lot of murdered people were found camping while on the run. Would we eventually have to go on the run as well? Likely we'd stay with Tasha, but it still unnerved me to think of having to hide out in a tent just to evade Death Eaters. They'd deserved better than that, and so did the others out there.

"I can't believe she's gone," Brenda sobbed. "I kept hoping she'd turn up eventually, but that's never going to happen. I've lost my only friend, and she was my best friend even if I never treated her right."

"She loved you, Brenda," I told her. "She always made excuses for you, even to us she would stick up for you. She understood you, and it's why she stuck by your side. You were obviously a good friend to her if she stuck by your side."

"We were never the same after I was on the Inquisitorial Squad," Brenda said. "I never blamed her, though. She had every right to be angry. She was a better friend than me. I don't care what anyone says. I am going to fight until he is gone," she continued angrily. "I really hope Harry finds him soon. Kendra should be alive and at school for her OWLs. I've been taking it easy in the DA, but not anymore. I want to hurt every Death Eater I can, and I don't care how I do it. Even if I have to use an Unforgivable, they went after my friend, and they're going to regret it."

Before I could say anything, she pulled out of my arms and got up and left. I almost felt scared though I wasn't sure why. All I knew was that Brenda would never be the same again.

* * *

Brenda remained quiet for the rest of the day. She normally did sit on her own, but often she would sit with us, or with some younger students she'd befriended through tutoring. Brianne had introduced them, and I had a feeling that she'd done to help Brenda make friends with people outside her year and house. That day, she sat completely on her own hunched over at meals, barely eating them.

Nick had invited her to Slughorn's club out of pity, but she'd turned down in his invitation and then went up to the girl's dorms. I worried about her, but I focused on the one night we might actually be able to have fun. We would be going home the next day, and I would be talking to mum and dad right away. We'd be able to focus on her during the holidays, and we weren't going to let her sit on her own. All of us, even my friends, had agreed to this.

While Gretchen had grown into her looks considerably, she still wasn't someone I was attracted to. However, I could admit that she looked stunning that night. Girls certainly knew what they were doing when it came to dressing up. I just hated how it always made Brianne look so grown up.

Philip looked surprised the most about Gretchen's makeover. He stared at her for so long. I wondered if he was wishing she was going with him. He'd mentioned not too long ago he'd shag her now, which was a surprise to most of us. He'd been so disgusted with Darren over it back in fourth year.

"So who is this bloke you're trying to make jealous?" Nick asked her as we made our way to Slughorn's office. "I dunno why some people do that unless they truly fancy them. You've fancied so many blokes over the years; it's hard to believe you like him that much."

"It's Neville Longbottom," Gretchen responded. "I try so hard to get his attention, but his focus is always either on Luna Lovegood or that Hufflepuff seventh year girl. You know, the pretty blond one?"

"Hannah Abbot?" Nick asked. "Have you seen her lately? The girl has always been cute, but she's blossomed into a beauty, hasn't she?" He added to me.

"She's nothing special," I answered. "Cute, but not cuter than most girls."

I knew who they were talking about, and she was attractive, but there were plenty of attractive girls at Hogwarts. I could understand Neville's attraction to Luna as she'd grown even more beautiful, even with all the odd stuff she wore. She was also one of the purest people I knew. As if Gretchen had a chance. I never understood why she went for blokes way out of her league.

"What is it about you and going for blokes who will never look at you? Lockhart, Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy for some odd reason and now Neville Longbottom."

"Very nice Barry," Gretchen responded good-naturedly.

"Well, you know it's the truth," I said. "You're looking at blokes who are either really picky, too old or are private people. Why not go for blokes who will have you? Neville won't even care that you're there with me."

"You know Malfoy was until the Tri-Wizard Tournament ending," Gretchen said. "And it was more of an attraction. I never agreed with him at all, and if for some weird, he'd wanted me? I'd have said no, and I definitely would now. And why shouldn't Neville notice me? Especially with you? He seems to respect you. They're always asking you for help."

"That's because I'm top of the year, and everyone is looking her a Hermione replacement," I said. "I'm not a Hermione replacement. I can't do half the stuff she can do. He's not going to give a damn that you're there with me. We're in the same house and year; it's likely to happen."

"I read in the Witch Weekly that to make a bloke jealous, you have to find an attractive bloke to date you," Gretchen said. "You're rich, handsome, and smart."

"Nice to know how you choose who you want to date," Nick told her.

"That's not true, and you know it," Gretchen said. "But if Barry can strike up a conversation with him-"

"Oh, hell, no," I said quickly. "I agreed to take you, but I'm not doing that, especially with him of all people! I didn't realize I was going to have to do anything but take you and dance with you."

"Fine," Gretchen said. "But wouldn't it be nice to have some fun?"

"Not when it's pointless drama," I answered.

Nick rolled his eyes at me, and we continued on in silence. If Tasha liked me back, would she go to those lengths just to get me to notice her? I didn't think she would, but then again, hadn't Hermione done that last year? She was the very last person I would think would try to make a bloke jealous.

When we reached the corridor to Slughorn's office, we noticed right away that the music wasn't as loud as the previous year. The three of us exchanged glances before moving on forward. I already worried that it wasn't going to be as fun. Sure enough, when we entered the office it was to see that it was as large as last year, but not as heavily decorated. The Carrow's were standing side by side against the wall, watching the dancing couples.

"Great," Nick said. "Might as well have not come."

"Well, let's just hang out anyway," Gretchen said. "The others will be here soon too."

"It's still not going to be as fun," Nick said.

Many people did arrive, and danced, talked or drank, but everyone was too scared to do much. Philip kept whispering that tonight would be the best night for the DA to do something.

"Maybe that's what they're expecting," Samaira whispered. "There has to be a reason why Ginny just suddenly cancelled. They know or fear something. They wanted us to have one more meeting to at least perfect our patronuses for the holidays."

She wasn't wrong about that, and it had been a worry among a lot of DA members (including us) who'd taken to practicing when they could in private. I knew everyone in my year in Ravenclaw were going home, and I was assuming it was the same in the other houses. We all knew a Dementor attack could happen.

All in all, it wasn't a fun night though we stuck it out to at least have some alcohol. The Carrow's were watching Neville and his friends more, so we were able to get away with drinking a lot. Philip even managed to smuggle a couple of bottles of Firewhiskey under his robes and left without notice, after whispering for us all to meet up in the boy's dorms.

"How much does he expect us to drink?" Katrina asked.

"I don't know, but it will be more fun in the boy's dorms. Let's see if we can smuggle anymore. All eyes are on the Carrow's, and they're looking Longbottom and Ginny," Darren said. "Some people try and grab food, the rest of you, alcohol."

"Lets you and I go for a walk while they do that," Gretchen whispered to me.

Confused, but curious, I took the hand she held out to me and left the office with her. We didn't speak until we were a good way from the corridors.

"I thought we could try a visit to the Room of Requirement before we go back to the Common Room," she told me.

"Er- why?" I asked.

"I was just thinking we could have our own fun Barry," she said to me.

Still confused, I glanced over at her with raised eyebrows and she giggled.

"Oh come on, you're smart, Barry. We've all had a hard time this term. No one is going to miss us," Gretchen said. "Let's go ease some tension."

I glanced at her startled. This was Gretchen! This was the girl who I'd disliked a lot for the last five years. This was the girl who had made fun of my family, Harry Potter, Luna, and countless others. She'd been sorry about it, but given all that, and the fact I wasn't all that attracted to her most of the time, I knew I should say no. However, the other part of me, the part that had wanted to shag a girl since the third year was screaming yes. That part of me drowned out all common sense that told me I should be waiting for Tasha or a girlfriend.

"I mean, if you're not comfortable with that, we don't have to Barry," Gretchen said. "It was just a suggestion, and usually most boys say yes."

I wanted to ask just how many, but I decided this wasn't the best time. She was giving me an out, and yet I didn't want it. I was having a hard time even finding my voice. I'd waited longer than I'd promised my cousins, and I was stressed, and perhaps it could help. So taking a deep breath, I finally nodded nervously.

"Okay," I said in a weak voice.

Gretchen giggled. "You're cute Barry, let's go."

* * *

The next day, I didn't talk much on the way home. Everyone else was talking about their holidays; others were happy that we could talk about the Carrow's without fear of punishment. Nick was worried that his parents would want to go into hiding because of the Carrow's behaviour. And Brianne was focused on Brenda. So I was able to get lost into my thoughts without anyone noticing.

I wasn't sure of what to think of the night before. I didn't feel any different even though I was. I would be seventeen in a few days, and all I could think of was the fact that I'd lost my virginity. I was thrilled to know what all the fuss was all about, and it did make me happy when Gretchen had assured me it was great. However, part of me felt regret that I hadn't waited for Tasha.

Gretchen sat across from me, acting as if nothing had happened, which I was thankful for. No one had said much when we'd arrived much later than everyone else. They were too much into the party they'd formed in the Common Room to care about us. All the Ravenclaws had wanted a fun night, and with the Carrow's busy, no one had been worried about being caught.

Nick and Brianne had noticed I was quiet, but besides that, no one noticed that I was different. I was relieved about that. It was nice to have peace again. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the train slowly stopping. We weren't even close to the station yet. It'd only been two hours into the train ride, and we were in the country.

"Not Dementor's again?" Brenda whispered, speaking for the first time.

"It will be okay," Nick told her. "We all know patronuses now."

"Your crow will protect you," Brianne added to her.

I sat up completely, forgetting the night before momentarily. It couldn't be Dementors again! Why would they be attacking the train? Philip got up to open the door with several people protesting. He stuck his head out the door. I got up as well moments later. What if they needed the DA to fight the Dementors? Several other people were peaking out their compartments as well.

Just as people began to speculate what could be going on, a Death Eater entered our carriage and threw something up in the air. Moments later, we were all engulfed in blackness.

"What's going on?" Gretchen shouted behind me. "Why has it gone all dark?"

"Everyone, just stay where you are," Brenda shouted, getting into prefect.

"She's right," I said. "Don't do anything stupid. We can't see, and we don't know-"

Moments later, we were heard shouting and screaming. Around me, everyone fell quiet. I wanted to go help, but I couldn't see. It was Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder I knew that much, and lumos didn't seem to work in it. I wasn't sure how long it lasted, and it would be a bad idea to go anywhere and hex or jinx anyone.

"Let's just all sit down in the compartment," Brenda said in a shaky voice. "Everyone, please just get back in your compartments until it wears off. It's too dangerous to do anything."

I wasn't sure if the others did as she said, but the rest of us returned to the compartment. No one spoke until a few moments later, the train started to move again, and the air slowly began to clear.

"What do you think happened?" Brianne asked.

"I think they took kids off the train," Philip said seriously. "Why else throw up all that powder? But was it random kids or-"

"Ginny or Neville?" Darren asked.

"Or Luna or any known DA member," Gretchen said. "They must have known where they were sitting before they threw up the powder though. I bet they have kids who are spies and have ways of communicating that kind of thing with them. We're not the only ones who know the Protean Charm after all."

As she said this, I wondered if perhaps the DA had tried to communicate with us. I'd put mine in my trunk, thinking I wouldn't need it. Maybe they knew what happened.

"Does anyone have their DA coin on them?" I asked. "Maybe they communicated something to us."

"I do, but I don't know if I felt it warm up," Philip said, reaching into his pocket. "I was too distracted, but it does feel warm…" He pulled it out and looked at it. As he read the message, his face went pale. "They took Luna."

"What?" Samaira. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it says they found out what compartment they were in, and they took Luna," Philip said. "The writing is tiny, but it says there was nothing they could do about it, and I think that says they were overpowered."

"Let me see," Gretchen said, taking the coin from him. She read over it and nodded. "That's what it says. I can't believe it."

They'd been watching her a lot at school, though. Maybe that was why Ginny had cancelled the DA meeting. From that moment on, all our minds and our conversation was about Luna and if she wouldn't be the last kid they take. Why did they leave Ginny and Neville? I would think they'd want Harry Potter's ex and Weasley more than anything, but they'd left her and the other leader of the DA.

We were still talking about it when we arrived at the station.

"Make sure all of you take care of yourselves," Philip told us. "And I hope I'll see all of you again when we return, and if I don't, I hope it's because you're in hiding."

We all said our goodbyes quickly as the train pulled to a stop. I knew my parents were going to want to take us home immediately, and so would Nick's, so we hugged before we departed the train as well.

Sure enough, since all three of us were together, mum and dad took our hands and immediately took us home without even welcoming us. I felt relief the moment my feet hit the floor, and I smelled our homes familiar scents. It eased my tension even more than the night before had. I dropped my trunk and immediately went over to sit with Ben, who was sitting with Garth.

"You have no idea how much of a relief if it to be back here," I said.

"I'd be okay if we went into hiding," Brianne said and then as if she couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into tears and hugged mum. Brenda soon followed suit and hugged dad.

"Just what the hell has been going on there?" Garth asked me. "I've heard stories, and I haven't heard from you, and neither have Ralph or Chester. We thought we'd hear from you more."

"It's too risky to send letters," I said. "And you could have sent some."

"We did," Garth said.

"They probably stopped them," mum said. "But please, tell us more about what's going on there. Maybe we will go into hiding if you lot really want to."

"But my OWLs!" Brenda protested. "You can't take me out of school now! You just can't!"

"We'll come to that decision later if none of you want to, we won't," dad told her. "Now, let's all sit down and talk."

I didn't want to go into hiding either. I was going to be of age in a couple of days, and I wanted to be at school for it. I would be allowed to fight no matter what, and I didn't want to sit at home and do nothing. Mum and dad didn't know about Luna yet, though, but I was sure I'd heard her fathers cries for her as we got off the train. So they had to know something else was up besides the girls tears.

"Were your detentions really that bad?" Ben asked.

"You have no idea, mate," I said.

The girls still weren't ready to talk, so as everyone sat down, I began telling them my experience, starting with Amycus Carrow wanting me to torture Brianne, when Nick had stunned Carrow for me to everything else leading up to the end of term. After I told my story, Brianne started hers, but Brenda didn't want to talk at all, and Brianne and I wisely didn't mention Kendra's family and neither did mum or dad.

We didn't mention the DA either for obvious reasons, and I hoped mum, dad, or Garth wouldn't either. Our antics had been published in the Quibbler a few times, so they knew it was back. I was hoping we could get upstairs with Ben and find out anything he knew. I had a feeling mum and dad were officially apart of the Order now too, or one of them were.

"Maybe you shouldn't go back," Garth said. "None of you kids should be at Hogwarts!"

"For the time being, we'd like to stay in the open," dad said.

"But they took a kid off the train!" Ben protested. "What if they want one of them next?"

"They won't go after our family," dad said. "They have no reason to. They have no proof that we're hiding Tasha or anyone else. We've been able to put the protective spells back on our house without them noticing. No one has been here since the summer. I would know immediately the moment the are here again."

"But, won't they be angry that you've put them back up?" Brianne asked.

"Brianne, I'm sure they've told every family not to do it, but they've done it anyway," dad said. "We're not going to take that risk, and I can get the three of you out of that castle in a moment's notice. Don't worry about that. And we're not sending you back on the train ever again. We can get you to Hogsmeade instead. We know a few homeowners who are willing to take care of you three. We just wanted to use them as a last resort, and it's here."

"I take it you two are officially in the Order now then," Brenda said.

"That's not for us to say," mum said. "I'm sure you lot aren't telling us everything. Don't ask us questions, and we won't ask you."

I stared at my mother in shock. She was actually giving us permission to be in the DA, and she knew we couldn't talk about it. That was her way of telling us that. Brianne and Brenda were exchanging glances, and I knew they'd caught that as well.

"So then what can you tell us then?" I asked. "I know we're not getting all the news about the outer Wizarding World."

"Well, there is one thing we are going to show you, and you can tell your friends at school. To be honest, we're surprised that you don't know about it," dad said as he glanced at mum. "Have you heard of something called Potter Watch?"

When we all said no, dad went on to explain it was a secret radio station you could tune into on the wireless at times. They weren't on the air at a certain time or at a certain date. So it was luck if you managed to find them and if you had the right password. Dad summoned the wireless and then sat there to show us how to work it.

He wasn't able to find something, but over the holidays, it would be something we'd tune in to a few times. It was a station that reported what the Daily Prophet didn't publish, and sometimes not even The Quibbler. I was surprised Ginny Weasley didn't know about it as dad suspected her family was apart of it as well.

After not having success the first night, we went upstairs with Ben so we could catch up with on more stuff we didn't tell mum and dad.

"Go meet them up there, Ben, I just need to tell them something," Brenda told Ben.

"Why can't I hear?" He asked her. "I'm eleven now. I am the same age you were when-"

"I don't care!" She said furiously. "Just go! Since I don't want you to hear, you should just leave instead of questioning it. You're eleven; you're not a little kid anymore, so prove it. A grown-up would just do as people asked."

Ben just rolled his eyes. "All you had to do was just say go. I dunno why you need to go into a rant again. I hope you're not turning into your old self again."

He turned and walked off. Brenda glared after him before turning back to us.

"Can you make sure he isn't listening please," Brenda asked mum and dad. "I know Ben will have an extendible ear in his pocket."

"I'll go take him," Garth said. "I am going to get going anyway, and I want to talk to him about something anyway."

Brenda waited until Garth was gone before speaking up again.

"I don't want Ben to know about Kendra's family," she said. "Furthermore, I am not talking about it with anyone. Ben isn't the only person who carries an extendable ear on him. I know all of you have been talking about keeping me company and talking to me about it. I know you and dad were going to bring it up soon, mum. I don't want to talk about it, and I just want to be alone. It doesn't mean I am not okay. I just can't take pity from people. I hate pity and I know you mean well, but it's never made me feel better. Let me come to you."

"Fair enough, but you don't you want Ben to know?" Mum asked. "He'd want to know, I think."

"Because I just don't want him to know," Brenda said. "I think maybe he's even forgotten about her. He never mentions her, and neither do I. I want to keep it that way. He'll just ask well-meaning questions, and I don't want to talk about the death of my friend with my eleven-year-old brother. It's bad enough seeing the kids his age at school going through all that. Lets just- just keep him innocent about certain things. He knows people are dying, but no one close to us until now have."

"But they might," I reminded her. "One of us could go."

"I know, but and if or when that happens, he can face it then. For now, just let him be happy his brother and sisters are home. It's bad enough he knows what is going on at school. Maybe later I'll tell him, but I want it to come from me," Brenda said.

I had a feeling there was more to it than that, but I wasn't going to question her on her choices, and I knew no one else would. After we all agreed, she got up and walked off. As Brianne and I got up as well, mum and dad stopped us.

"Please respect her wishes, but keep an eye out for her," dad told us. "We will as well, and we'll try to stop Ben from instigating things with her."

"Maybe it's best if we let him," I said. "She wants everything to stay the same, and Ben stops, she'll know we said something to him, even if it's not the truth."

"Well, we'll just tell him to stop if he goes to far then," mum said. "He's been turning into a slight bully for some reason. He was doing it to Sam the other day because Sam isn't as smart as him."

"He's always done that," I said. "But I'll see if I can talk to him."

I wondered where he'd picked it up from and if it had been from one of us. Sam was the only other kid he was around, and he was usually a good kid. Perhaps he even remembered Brenda's bullying days. It was often her he bullied the most.

"I think it's what Garth is doing right now," dad said. "Anyway, do be careful about what you tell Ben. He's old enough to hear, but he's also vulnerable to the Death Eaters, and they could try to get information from him. Unfortunately, the three of you have felt the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. You know how hard it is to keep quiet under it."

We promised we'd be careful before hurrying upstairs. We couldn't talk to Ben about the DA as Garth wanted to visit with us for a bit longer, but we had all of the holidays to catch up. I wasn't sure when I'd see Garth again, so I didn't complain and visited with my cousin. He was able to catch us up on Chester and Ralph.

Apparently, the MACUSA was getting ready to send people over to help. Chester and Ralph were part of a group helping to recruit people to come out here. They were helping Canadian's recruit as well. The MACUSA and the Canadian Ministry kept in contact frequently about it. Chester and Ralph were also prepared to come back to help fight if they had to, but apparently they had no plans to move back, even when the war was over.

Our homecoming wasn't as great as I'd hoped, but I still did feel better to be back in the safety of my home.

* * *

Mum and dad really did try to make the holidays happy for us, but I knew it was hard for them. It was hard for all of us. Brenda spent most of her time in her room, though at times, she would come out and play games with us if we begged her long enough. We always tried to pick Monopoly as the game could last forever. However, at times it seemed she would purposely lose just so she could leave the game.

I did spend the days leading up to my seventeenth birthday, feeling excited despite the mood of our home. When I woke up on my seventeenth birthday, the first thing I did was reach for my wand so I could use magic without permission for the first time. I was now officially old enough to use magic when I wanted, and in the new term, we were supposed to be learning to apparate. It was another reason I wanted to go back.

I used magic to get ready for everything, including using it to brush my teeth. I knew despite the war that my parents would be celebrating it with me, and I was hoping more than anything that Nick would be there. His parents really weren't letting him or Noah out of their sight from what he'd told me when he floo called the night before. He'd had to beg them just to let him floo call me.

So I didn't have high expectations when I went downstairs. Sure enough, my family was waiting for me, but Nick wasn't there. We did the usual breakfast ritual, and then they gave me my presents. One included a watch that wizards always got on their seventeenth birthday. Wearing that watch truly made me feel like a man. Dad didn't often wear his, but I'd been admiring it since I was a young boy. I couldn't wait until I had my own.

I mentioned this to dad as I gazed at it.

"I seriously considered giving you my own," dad told me. "But I wanted you to have your own. I'd like to think that someday I'll give mine to my oldest grandchild someday instead. Your grandfathers is going to Sam as he is the youngest."

I'd never known that, but I'd also never given grandpa's watch much of a thought either. If anything could change my mood that day was the fact that I could do magic, and I finally had my own watch. I wasn't going to wear it at school. I wasn't even sure of taking it back as I wanted to keep it safe from the Carrow's or others.

"We have another surprise for you," mum told me as I gazed at my watch. "Now that you're seventeen, we can do this undetected. We didn't want to risk before just in case we were still being watched."

"Why what are we doing?" I asked.

"Your dad is going to take you to see Tasha," mum told me.

"We want to go too!" Ben said quickly, and Brianne nodded in agreement.

"You two have the trace on you, and it's Barry's birthday," dad said. "And we're not apparating directly into Jerome's home just in case. We're apparating to a location close by. While they're protected under the Fidelius Charm, Jerome is still very careful about using magic around Tasha just in case. I have a spot I apparate to when I visit them. It's where we are going."

I was hardly listening. I was still in disbelief that we were actually going to see her. I was about to see Tasha for the first time since last summer when the Ministry had fallen. Brianne and Ben no longer protested, but both looked unhappy about this.

"I can't until I know how to do it myself," I told dad as he took hold of my hand. "Believe me; I feel the same way. It will be easier to take you lot to and from school, especially with Ben going next year. My hopes are that the war will be over soon, but I have my doubts."

I didn't want to think too much about the war, even if I knew why Tasha was at the location were going to. I didn't respond as dad turned on the spot. I wondered if I'd be able to do as well as dad could someday. I hated the feeling of it, no longer how convenient it was. My feet hit hard ground moments later, and I was suddenly freezing. I cast a warming charm on myself as I hadn't thought to put on a cloak, I'd just summoned my shoes.

We were at the edge of a snowy forest with absolutely nothing in sight.

"Read this and then burn it while I put this disillusionment charms on us," dad told me, handing me a piece of parchment.

I was about to protest that I could do it myself, but he did to me before I could say anything. I shivered as it felt like a cold egg was going down my back. I read the piece of parchment and then burnt it. As soon as I did, a fair-sized red brick house in the distance suddenly appeared. It was the only house around.

"She's in there, isn't she?" I asked dad, who nodded.

I broke out into a run. I expected dad to call me back, but he didn't say anything. I heard him running behind me to keep up. I didn't stop until I reached the houses yard.

"Don't knock," dad told me as he caught up to me. "There is a certain code we have to use."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You'll see," dad said.

I followed him up the porch, where he walked up to the door. He tapped the door in different spots and a different amount of times with his wand. There was a loud clicking sound, and then the door opened slightly.

"Who has come to visit," a magnified voice asked, causing me to jump.

"It is I, Richard Hoofer, with my eldest son, Barry Hoofer. I am the first person you hexed with the stunner," dad said.

There were a few more loud clicks and then the door opened up all the way. Dad grinned over at me before pushing the door open and entering. I followed behind quickly. The door shut behind us, making the same clicking noise as before after it was shut. Dad and I were in a dark hallway. He led me into a brightly lit small kitchen.

Before I could even more even further in, I heard: "Barry!"

The next moment, Tasha was running to throw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly, feeling relieved that I finally had my best friend and the girl I loved in my arms for the first time since the summer. I wasn't sure how long we held onto each other before we parted.

"I can't believe you're here," she said. "I've dreamt of seeing you again almost every night: you and everyone else. You have to tell me what's going on at Hogwarts. I read all the messages, and it doesn't sound good."

I put a finger to my lips and nodded over at dad who was in a whispered conversation with a man who I recognized as my second cousin, Jerome. He looked similar to dad but older for some reason, and he also had a long greying beard.

"Why don't you two go catch up," dad told me. "We can't stay long, Barry. I just wanted you to see Tasha on your birthday."

"Ooh, right, Happy Birthday, Barry! I don't have anything for you but-"

"I don't care about that, I am just glad to see you again," I told her. "Where can we go to talk privately."

'Up in the room I stay in," Tasha told me.

She led me out of the kitchen and into a small living room with two couches and a wireless and three bookshelves full of textbooks. In there, Tasha led me up a narrow flight of stairs.

"I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger house," I said.

"He has a decent amount of money, but he isn't on the wealthy side of your family, you know," Tasha responded.

"Actually, I don't know much about him or this part of the family," I said. "I barely know my own cousins. I just thought we all had money."

"Nope, this side of the family have never had trust funds, but they do well with money," Tasha said. "Besides, this is a cozy little house. He doesn't have it full of magic anymore because of me, but I guess every room had different magical experiments happening in them. I feel bad that I've had to stop him from working on them, but he's told me not to worry because he volunteered for this, and he'll take more in."

"It'd be tight if we all had to live here," I said.

"But you'd be safe, but I doubt that would happen. You'd be protected at home because only the secret keeper can divulge the secret. The Death Eaters might know the location of your house, but once that charm is cast, your dad himself would have to tell them the address."

Tasha led me into a small pink bedroom. She had several pictures of us and her other friends in various years on the walls or in photo frames on the dresser. There was one of Tasha, Nick and I, which had been taken at Slughorn's party last year framed on the bedside beside her bed. I decided I wasn't even going to tell mention Slughorn's party to her. She didn't need to know about Gretchen. In the picture we had our arms around each other's shoulders with Tasha in the middle, smiling. It was hard to believe that none of us realized that things were only going to get worse.

"Anyway, you do know you can't tell anyone at school about this, right?" Tasha asked me. "You can tell Nick, but that's it."

"I know, but tell me more about what you've been doing," I said to her. "You've likely heard what's going on in the world, right? And how did you get the message to us?"

"Jerome doesn't know too much about the DA and I don't mention it. He just thinks the coin has the Protean Charm on it for me to communicate to my friends. I wrote down the message for him to send, and he apparated into a different location to send it, just in case," Tasha explained. "He'll rarely do magic around me. The Fidilius Charm should protect any magic cast, but he's paranoid anyway. He dated a muggle once, so he knows how to live like one, and I help him with what he doesn't know. We don't get any news here except when your dad sends us messages. Jerome has cut all contact with most people, and he doesn't have any paper deliveries."

"So then what have you been doing?" I asked her.

"Well, he tutors me with all the subjects I'd be taking this year, and he's even been teaching me things they don't teach at Hogwarts, such as wandless magic," Tasha explained. "He said Umbridge was right when she said we could cast the spell if we understand the theory as well. She just taught it to us the wrong way. He's been showing me wand movements and incantations with fake wands. He said with enough practice; I can do it. He's been teaching me to concentrate on non-verbal magic too. He makes exceptions for doing magic when he shows me how to make Potions. He gives me quizzes and essays too just as teachers do. He's an excellent teacher and he always has stories. Tell me about Hogwarts though, please. My life is cushy by the sounds of yours."

I didn't want her to know just how cushy her life really was compared to ours. However, I sat there and gave her every detail of what was going on, including everything we'd been doing in the DA. Tasha was a sworn member by the DA just as any other former DA member, so I could tell her everything.

"It sounds like you lot will be able to fight if you have to, though," Tasha said. "I wish I could be there too."

"No, you don't," I said. "Sometimes, I wish we could go into hiding, but we're staying for Brenda's sake, and I want to learn how to apparate anyway. We should be learning how to next term. So maybe I'll be able to try and visit you sometimes."

"We'll have to be very careful about it, though," Tasha told me. "At least until I am seventeen. I just hope we won't have to still be in hiding by then. I'm glad I am safe, but it gets frustrating because I want to help as well. Now I feel spoiled compared to you lot."

"But you're alive and safe, and not one person will resent the fact that you're safe and cozy," I said. "Kendra's family was found murdered in a tent."

"Your dad told Jerome something about that. They think it's because they used You-Know-Who's name. Sometimes Kendra's father did. The name is taboo now. If you say it, it will break all magical enchantments, and they can track you," Tasha explained.

"Harry Potter uses the name a lot," I said. "I've heard him, and so does Hermione."

"Hopefully, they know about the taboo," Tasha said. "I think they'd have been found by now if they were still using it, and everyone would probably know they'd been found."

"We've all said that too," I said. "But I'll let the DA know when I go back. Maybe Ginny is secretly communicating with them. She can let them know. You know mum and dad basically gave us permission to be in the DA. Mum told us that if we don't ask them questions about the Order, they won't ask us questions about the DA."

"Your dad was telling Jerome that," Tasha said, smiling. "They didn't know I was listening in. Your dad suspects all three of you are in on it, and that Ben knows. Both your mum and dad are proud of all of you and Nick as well. They're glad you're doing something to help yourselves and each other."

"It's not the same there without you, though," I said.

"I think about Hogwarts all the time," Tasha said. "I always think back to the times we'd be hanging out with your cousins in the common room. It was such a different world back then compared to now. At one time, your greatest stress was whether you could get a girlfriend at one time."

I smirked when I thought about our younger selves. Sure, there was always something going on at Hogwarts that we were worried about, but we'd still had our petty stresses and our carefree moments. Even last year, we'd still had some of our innocence.

"I'd give anything to spend a day back when we were first or second years," I said. "Even if it's just for a day. An escape from all of this would be nice."

"First-year before all the mad stuff started to happen," Tasha said. "After that first Halloween, everything changed. Have you heard anything about Luna?"

I shook my head. Dad had been hoping to find out information at the Ministry, but no one talked about it, and he wasn't about to bring it up. As far as anyone was concerned, Luna Lovegood had never disappeared.

"I hope they haven't killed her," Tasha said.

Dad suddenly peeked his head in the door.

"Say your good-byes, Barry, we're going to get going," dad told me. "Maybe next time you can have a longer visit, but we don't want too many magical folk around her."

I felt like they were being overly paranoid, but I didn't say this. I just gave Tasha a long hug before we went downstairs. I couldn't believe I was leaving her again and I didn't know when I'd see her again. It was a great birthday gift, but part of me left feeling very unsatisfied as well.

* * *

A/N: If anyone is still reading this far, I know some of you will dislike the fact that Barry slept with Gretchen. It's part of a big brother lecture Barry has with Ben in Ben's story. Ben is different from Barry, and a bit of an idiot when it comes to girls. Barry uses Romilda, Gretchen, and other girls as examples to Ben for why he should be careful. Ben asks Barry for advice in regards to just having casual sex to lose his virginity at a young age, and horrified, Barry tells him absolutely not and then tells him about Gretchen and his regret. Ben ends up doing it anyway but gives him a moment to think back to his big brothers advice and how he should have listened to him. Writing this story, I wanted to change that because now I like the idea of Tasha and Barry losing it to each other eventually. However, I enjoyed writing the scene between Ben and Barry, so I kept it in.


	50. Sixth Year Part Six

After my seventeenth birthday, I took advantage of the fact that I could do magic whenever I wanted and had my wand out frequently. I expected my siblings to be jealous about this, but if they were, they didn't say anything. Brenda still hid out in her room. Ben and Brianne would ask me to show them different spells, and I was more than happy to oblige.

Most of the time, I tried doing all my spells non-verbally, but when I was showing Brianne or Ben, I would say the spell out loud.

"I can't wait until I get to your level," Brianne said as I showed her how to summon non-verbally. "I can't even summon anything yet. We know the spell because Isabella has been trying to practice it, but neither Harriet or I can do it at all. I've always wondered how Harry was able to do it with that dragon. He was only a fourth year."

"Hermione told me last year that the two of them practiced it for hours," I said. "It takes time, but you'll get it eventually. It's just like all spells."

"Some are easier to learn than others," Brianne said.

"Do you think it will take me hours to learn?" Ben asked me.

"Ben, you managed to lock your door without a wand," I pointed out. "You'll be able to do it with a wand."

"One time and I've never been able to since," Ben responded. "I've tried since then, but it tires me out too much. I'll just have to wait until I can get my wand, but with Ollivander gone, I don't even know where we'd get one."

"There are other wandmakers, they just aren't as popular," I told him. "But maybe the war will be over by next summer, and he'll turn up."

Ben looked at me as if he doubted this, but I doubted it as well. He'd been gone since the summer, and no one had heard anything about his whereabouts. I had my doubts that the war would be over by then.

"We'll probably go into hiding after this year," Ben responded. "The main reason mum and dad are letting you lot return is for Brenda's fifth year. Dad also wants to hear what is going on at the Ministry, but they were talking when you went to see Tasha. Dad is seriously considering pulling you lot out of school as soon as Brenda finishes her OWLs."

"I wish they would," Brianne said. "I really would like to help fight, but none of us know if we will have a battle or not. I think I know enough if I have to fight anyway. If mum and dad came in right now and told us that we couldn't go back, I wouldn't be too upset."

I was on two sides of it. I wanted to return to learn more, especially since I knew I could fight in the battle since I was officially of age. On the other hand, Brianne was right. We didn't know if there would be a battle or not, and the Carrows could go too far. They'd already taken Luna from the train. Now that I was seventeen, I could practice spells whether I was in school or not, so I wouldn't fight mum and dad on their decision. It was only Brenda who would, and they knew that. I knew the last thing they wanted to do was upset her more with the loss of Kendra.

"And you could still contact the DA and let them know we're okay," Brianne continued.

I'd told them how paranoid dad and Cousin Jerome were when it came to Tasha, and the two of them had agreed that they were going overboard as well. The Fidilius Charm protected them from all that. I was pleased that my friend was protected, but I was sure she or anyone could do magic, and the Ministry wouldn't know it.

"And we could send them messages with any information we find out," Ben added.

"If we're in hiding, we won't be finding anything out," I told him. "Dad is the only person Cousin Jerome has contact with. Once we go into hiding, we'll be in the same boat."

"Well, dad will have some contacts he trusts," Ben told me. "They have a couple of people they talk to using the Protean Charm. They just don't know I know that. They do their best to hide things from me, but most of the time, they want me in their sight, so I overhear things."

I didn't see or hear much from Nick unfortunately during the Christmas holidays. The girls were still given permission to practice their Patronuses (mum and dad didn't ask any of us why we could suddenly do it) so they along with me showed them off for Ben. Ben complained that he wished he had a wand so he could try as well.

Brenda had trouble producing hers at first, but after some begging from Ben, she finally managed to show hers off. Mum and dad were impressed by them when they came out to watch us. Dad praised her crow so much that Brenda finally wore a smile as she watched it fly around the yard.

"Are you quite sure this is okay?" Brianne asked dad nervously.

"The Ministry can't tell who is casting the spell," dad told her. "And I doubt they're watching us at the moment. We haven't given them a reason to yet."

Brianne still seemed nervous to try, especially while we were outside. She was more relaxed when we were all sitting in the living room. Dad also began telling me more about how apparition worked, and how it would be taught to us when we started.

"We still want you to come home for the Easter holidays," mum told me as the holidays neared to an end. "You can still take your test, and the extra lessons but we will take you. All three of you will be coming home, but not on the Hogwarts Express."

They'd arranged with a friend of theirs in Hogsmeade for us to use their floo to get us to Hogwarts. Dad was going to apparate there and meet us there while mum stayed at home with Ben. He was then going to walk us to the school gates.

Our good-bye to mum and Ben seemed even more tearful than the one on the first day of school. Ben had barely shown much emotion most of the holidays, but I could see unshed tears in his eyes as we left. I was sure he was going to cry for real once we were all gone. He was at an age where he didn't want anyone, but especially me, to see him cry.

I hated leaving them, and part of me wished that mum and dad had decided it was too risky for us to go back. My mood changed almost instantly when I saw that Nick was waiting for me after I'd gone through.

"Hey mate," he said as he helped me take my trunk out of the fireplace. "Glad to see you. Mum and dad weren't sure if they wanted me to go back, but they're not ready to go into hiding. They told me to tell them if things get to be too much at school."

"We're mainly here for Brenda," I said as the fireplace lit up.

I didn't see the owner of the house anywhere and I questioned Nick about this as Brenda appeared with her trunk. We helped her out of the fireplace to make room for Brianne.

"Outside checking to make sure the coast is clear," Nick said. "They weren't wrong when they said there would be more Death Eaters and Dementors around, mate. They're in the school grounds and even in Hogsmeade."

"Dementors are here?" Brenda asked.

"I think they're mainly guarding the secret passages but sometimes they get bored and roam around," Nick told her. "I've been here an hour waiting for you lot. The owner, Mr. Higgs said that the residents have protective spells and anti-dementor wards on their homes, and they recast them often. I used to wish I could live in Hogsmeade but now I'm glad I don't. A lot of the shop keepers are thinking of closing up shop, so there go Hogsmeade visits."

"Do we really want to go now?" I asked as Brianne appeared.

"Go where?" She asked while Nick told her trunk for her.

"Hogsmeade," I answered. "They weren't wrong when they said there would be Dementors and Death Eaters in the grounds."

Brianne went pale as she stepped out of the fireplace. She'd never been around one, but she remembered our stories. Brenda had only been eleven the last time she'd seen them, so I could understand her fear more than anyone. I hadn't been much older, but it'd been her first train ride to Hogwarts.

"We'll be fine," Nick said.

"But what if they use them as punishment?" Brianne asked.

"They won't," an elderly tall man said as he entered the room, and I couldn't help but wonder my dad's relationship to him. I'd thought it was a friend his own age. "You-Know-Who wants as many followers as possible. He lets them hurt you but you'd be useless if you're soulless. I am Mr. Higgs. Your father worked for me in the summers as a young lad."

"Here in Hogsmeade?" Brenda asked. "He never told us that."

"To be fair, we've never asked," Brianne said.

"Yes, I had a small second-hand shop of muggle and wizard items until the larger one moved in and ran me out of business," he responded. "Your father came in the first time in his third year looking for a few muggle items for his Muggle Studies class. We struck up a conversation, and I mentioned my love for butterbeer. He came back every Hogsmeade visit to bring me a butterbeer all the way to his seventh year. I offered him a job the summer after his third year, and he worked with me every summer, even after his seventh year. I'm more than happy to look after his children and friends of his children. You may use my fireplace when you need to."

Dad was taking a good while to come, and I wondered if he'd done this on purpose so we'd get to know Mr. Higgs. I often forgot my father had a life before we came along, and here was a man who'd he apparently brought butterbeer to. It seemed odd to think of my father as a teenager.

"You look quite like your father," Mr. Higgs continued. "There are some obvious differences but it could be your father at seventeen staring back at me. A handsome boy you've turned out to be."

"Thanks," I said feeling somewhat awkward.

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate it, he was just still a stranger to me. Thankfully, the fireplace lit up and dad stepped out moments later looking a bit frazzled. I wondered if Ben had thrown a fit about not coming or something.

"Everything okay?" Mr. Higgs asked him.

"Our security alarms went off," dad responded and Brianne gasped. "Everything is fine," he told her quickly. "They were just going off to alert me that someone was leaving. I forgot to turn that one-off. It went haywire after Brianne went, especially since this is an unfamiliar place."

"But why would you need that?" Brianne asked. "Surely no one would sneak in and then sneak out."

"Well, the house does have anti-apparition charms on it most of the time, so they could," dad told her, "but no, it's more because I have three teenaged children and a preteen at home. It's been on the fireplace since Barry started his first year. It's one I must strengthen as it let three of you go before going off."

"So you were worried we'd sneak out?" I asked laughing.

I felt some tension leave as it was such a normal topic to talk about. I wondered if things were different if I ever would have snuck out in the past. However, most of my teen years were spent worrying about you-know-who or even Sirius Black, so I'd never bothered. I'd never had the normal teen years that I was hoping Ben could have someday.

"Teenagers have been known to do that," dad said.

"Particularly this young man," Mr. Higgs said. "The stories your grandparents used to tell us about him! Used to be a bit of a troublemaker, this one."

I gazed over at dad with new eyes. This was definitely not something he'd ever told us. I could see the girls and Nick gazing over at him with surprise as well. Dad cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject to getting us to the school. He thanked Mr. Higgs for letting us use his fireplace and told him he'd back.

"All four of you, wands out," dad said as we left the house. "The term has officially begun, but you're also allowed to use magic if you have to. I don't want to take any risks if there are dementors are around."

The moment we left the house, I felt tense again and I automatically grabbed Brianne's hand to keep her close. We didn't see anyone around, and there was already a chill in the air as it was winter, and Hogsmeade was always cold anyway. We all stuck together as dad led us to the great. There were other footsteps big and small in the snow going in the same direction we were. This told me that mum and dad weren't the only parents who didn't want their children to go on the train. A lot likely had apparated them here or knew someone so they could use their floo.

There were no carriages waiting for us at the gates, so we would have to walk the whole way there. Dad said goodbye to us there, giving us all a hug. I didn't look back, but I knew he was watching us to make sure we got to the school.

"What do you think will be different in school?" Brianne asked.

"They probably spent the holidays coming up with new punishments for us," Nick said.

Once arriving at the school, we found that there were two Death Eaters guarding the doors, and checking the students who came back inside. We had to wait while our trunks were searched and we were all checked over with a secrecy detector. Usually, they'd left that job up to Filch. I wondered what they had him doing.

None of them found anything suspicious in our trunks and we were free to go inside.

"I have something for your seventeenth birthday," Nick told me. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for it, but mum and dad were scared after what happened to Luna. The floo network isn't even trustworthy right now. I'm surprised they even let me take it, but they weren't sure about apparating to Hogsmeade either."

"Mum said there is some kind of charm that lets them know if people apparate into Hogsmeade apparently," Brenda said.

"Only after curfew I think," Brianne said. "I think it's after eight or something, and it alerts people if anyone goes outside too. Apparently it's to let them know if Harry Potter goes to Hogsmeade."

"I suppose they think if he's going to sneak into Hogwarts, he'll do it at night," Nick said with a nod. "We'll celebrate our seventeenth birthdays together," he added to me. "Maybe we can see if there is a way to get some drinks and have a party. You'll have to tell me how it went."

"When we're alone I will," I answered.

I was going to mention that I'd seen Tasha, but I also wanted to tell him about Gretchen as well. Ever since I'd seen Tasha again, I'd been regretting I hadn't waited for her but I also couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't worried about other things. I wanted to know Nick's opinion on the whole thing. I could never talk about it in front of my sisters, and I was hoping they weren't going to want to hang out once we were in Ravenclaw tower.

Thankfully, Brianne was more than eager to look for her friends, Hilda in particular, who'd stayed at Hogwarts. Brenda took off at a fast pace up to her dorm the moment we entered the common room.

"Think Philip and Darren are back?" Nick asked me as we made our way through more slowly.

There weren't a lot of people sitting around, and I figured most of them were likely on the train still. It wasn't due for another few hours, so I thought it was safe to say that we'd have our dorm to ourselves.

Thankfully, when we did enter or dorm, it was to find that their trunks weren't even there yet.

"Bet they're wondering where we are," Nick said.

"Well, I'm glad they're not here," I said as I set my trunk in it places in front of my bed. "I saw Tasha on my birthday-"

"What?" Nick asked dropping his trunk on the floor. "How?"

I sat down on my bed and explained how dad had arranged with Cousin Jerome for me to go for a visit. He kept quiet as I told him about our visit and what she'd told me.

"So you didn't even tell her that you fancy her?" Nick asked.

"It wasn't the time, Nick," I said. "I was there for a short while. It has to wait until the end of the war, but there is more I'm not telling you-" and then I went on to tell him about Gretchen.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen when you took her as your date," Nick said. "She does that with all her dates, but I think she's wanted you for a while. And I knew you wouldn't say no. To be honest, I'm surprised you've held out this long."

"You're definitely not reacting as I thought you would," I said.

I had to admit, I was disappointed by his casual reaction. I figured he'd be happy for me as blokes usually were for their friends. I'd seen it with the older boys when I was younger, and I remember how big of a deal my cousins had made it out to be. Nick and I used to talk late into the night about what it'd be like and he seemed calm.

"I had it a long time ago with Anita mate," Nick responded. "I just didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd try to compete. You'd think you would have to have it because I did. I'm happy for you, I really am… but I just can't believe it was with Gretchen. You can do better. She's easy, mate."

I barely paid attention to the rest of what he said. Apparently he'd had it a long time ago with Anita and he'd never told me. I understood his point, and he was spot on about me, but we'd never kept anything this big between us. I'd wanted to tell Nick sooner, but it'd been hard with all that was going on before term, and we'd gone home the next day.

"When with Anita?" I finally asked him.

"Last year," he said. "We'd actually talked about it after Slughorn's Christmas party, but she wasn't comfortable with it while I was still fifteen," and then he rolled his eyes. "As if a couple of months made a difference, but I respected that. We never really had a relationship, we had what she once had with Lance, I'd say. You had enough going on last year with Tasha, and we had OWLs… I just didn't want to put you under that pressure. I know you mate, I know you'd try to give it up to the first girl you could just because I had it. I didn't want you to do something stupid. Unfortunately, you still did."

"She's not that bad," I said. "And if you're thinking I should have waited for Tasha, well, that would have been nice, but what if we never have that freedom?"

"Tasha, or at least with a girl you're in a relationship with," Nick said. "Anita and I didn't technically date, but we respected each other and we didn't see anyone else during our relationship. Gretchen will be onto her next conquest and you and I both know she wanted Neville Longbottom. You seem to get used by girls a lot, mate."

"She didn't use me, I knew what it was going into it," I told him. "Don't try to make Gretchen out to be some bitch. I would never date her anyway. You're making it out to be something it's not."

"I'm sorry mate," Nick responded. "I am. I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I just want to make sure you're not going to try and start anything with her. She doesn't want you for anything else."

"She's a nice girl now, but she isn't the one I want to be with," I said. "I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Anita, even if your intentions were good."

Nick finally laughed.

"It was hard keeping it from you, but we've had other things on our minds as well, so it wasn't that hard," he responded. "Good for you mate, but try to choose better next time eh. Anyway, what else happened?"

We spent the rest of the day catching each other up, though I still felt disappointed by Nick's lack of enthusiasm. It almost seemed as if it wasn't that big of a deal. After all, he hadn't told me about his first time.

* * *

A notice went up for Apparition lessons on the first day. Nick and I as well as our classmates all signed up right away. I'd been worried that they would cancel it as they seemed to want to take away everything from us. Ginny warned us not to get too relaxed about it though, as it was something they could try to take away from us at any given moment.

Many people kept questioning them when we'd have another DA meeting, though thankfully most were smart enough to use the DA coins to do so. It got to the point, that I'd feel it constantly heating up in the Common Room, and I grew annoyed. Finally, one evening I pulled it out as I tried to work through the most complicated Arithmancy question I'd experienced yet, and wrote as small as I could, without it being unreadable: Could people stop asking? I'm sick of false alarms. I'm trying to do homework.

Moments later, another message appeared saying: Thank YOU!

Another appeared saying: We will let you know as soon as we can.

I was sure they were trying to lie low as many eyes were on them, and there were even more Death Eaters in the castle than before, most guarding the secret passages out of the castle. Some also just stood in the corridors against the walls watching us, but oddly enough, none were outside of the Room of Requirement. I think it was this reason that Ginny and Neville were so hesitant about having a meeting so soon into the new term.

Brenda continued to work on her own, and if we tried to sit with her in the Common Room to keep her company, she would get up and go up to the girl's dorms. I didn't want to bother her too much, so I tried to refrain from going over to her much, but she looked as if she'd lost even more weight.

One afternoon, a couple of weeks into the new term, I went over to sit with her, though I knew it would annoy her.

"Barry-" she began in an exasperated voice.

"I will leave," I interrupted quickly. "I promise, but Brenda, I need you to eat more. You were already losing weight before the holidays, but you look even thinner. You're skinny as it is. Just eat more, and I promise I won't bother you unless you come to me."

"Fine, but I'm sure you remember the late nights from last year," Brenda told me. "You got skinnier last year too, and you've always been a string bean as it is. You look like you could do with a good meal as well."

"I think I'm growing again, but you and I both know this isn't just about OWLs," I responded.

"I'll eat more, now go away, please," she told me.

It was all I could ask for, so I got up to go over to where Nick was sitting when I felt the coin in my pocket burn. Hoping it wasn't another person asking when the next meeting would be, I pulled it out to see that thankfully, it wasn't.

"Tonight," Brenda said looking up at me.

"You're going, right?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?" She asked.

I hurried over to Nick to see that he was examining his own coin as well. I knew without a doubt that he'd be there as well. I didn't even have to say anything, he just nodded as soon as our eyes met.

We'd all be taking the DA seriously before the holidays, but after what happened to Luna, I knew people were even more determined. We might not have been close to Luna, but she'd been in our house and year. Her absence was missed, and every one of us Ravenclaws was pissed off, and we wanted her back.

The corridor outside of the Room of Requirement was empty, though we'd passed a few Death Eaters on the way. I still found this very odd, and it made me think they were doing this on purpose. They wanted to catch us at it, just as Umbridge did a couple of years ago. Why else was this corridor always empty?

At first, I'd been worried that maybe there was someone there who was invisible, but after using Homenum Revelio during many prefect patrols, it was to find that no one there. If they were, they knew some kind of spell that Homenum Revelio couldn't even detect. Nick didn't think they'd go that far yet, but I wasn't so sure.

We kept quiet while Brenda paced in front of the wall to reveal the door. We quickly hurried inside, just in case. So far, no one we didn't want to get in couldn't get in, but we still weren't sure of how secure the room was, or if they even had spells outside to detect if people were using it.

When we entered the room, it was to see that it wasn't too full yet, but I saw many new faces, including the new Ravenclaw bloke, Alistar, in our dormitory. He'd still never said a word to any of us, so we'd never been sure if we could trust him. I knew we likely should have done more to be friendlier and to make him feel more welcome, but these were different times. Last year, we likely would have, but we were all scared.

"I wonder who invited him," Nick muttered to me as we went over to join some of our classmates.

"I dunno, but at least we know he's on our side," I whispered.

"He could be a spy," Nick whispered back. "We don't know anything about him, and he's never talked to us. Now he's suddenly here after term?"

"Well, he's sworn to secrecy no matter what," I responded with a shrug. "But there are other new faces too. A lot of people are upset about Luna."

I wasn't even sure of how many new people we had, but it was clear that Luna's disappearance had affected them all. We had people from first year all the way to seventh year. For the first time since the DA had opened, there were a few Slytherin students who appeared to be nervous, and I certainly hoped no one would give them a hard time. Even if they were spies, they couldn't tell anyone anything without us finding out. I just wondered who'd brought them in.

"Well, I hope no one bothers them," Brianne whispered when Hilda pointed them out. "There are good Slytherins too. I know it's hard to trust a lot of people, but look how scared they look. I don't think they're spies. I think they want to help as well."

I think most people were in agreement with this, though a few people did give them a wide berth when they came in. Thankfully, as soon as it seemed the last person was there for the meeting, Neville started the meeting and addressed this right away.

"I know some of you are worried about our Slytherin members," Neville said as he glanced over at the three nervous students. "But they are already sworn to secrecy. They cannot sell us out, even if they want to, but all three have promised that it is not their intention. They have also promised to give us information as well. So I ask that no one bothers them, and if you do, we may ask you to leave. Now-"

And he continued on to let us know what the days meeting would be about. Apparently, we were going to have an even longer mock battle than usual. They wanted to prepare us to be able to fight for hours now. So far, the longest battle we'd had gone over an hour. Today, the entire meeting would mostly be fighting in the maze, and in the end, they were going to let us practice dark hexes and jinxes on the targets.

"Remember, anyone found using anything we learn against another student will be kicked out," Ginny told us. "Minor hexes or jinxes are one thing, but no one here is to ever use an illegal curse on someone unless it's a real battle."

"What about Luna?" Anthony Goldstein called out. "What happened that day? Have you heard anything else?"

"We don't know any more than everyone here," Neville said. "They used Peruvian Darkness Powder in our carriage, and then took her from the train. They restrained every single one of us, even people in the other carriages as well. We don't know how many Death Eaters there were but there were a lot."

"But why Luna and not you two?" Zacharias Smith asked. "There must be a reason for it. They want you two as much as her. Why not take out all of you?"

"We think it was to shut her father up," Ginny said. "He's been printing so much information in The Quibbler that they don't want the public to know. We don't have any Quibblers on hand, but if you get a hold of one, take a read through. It seems he is printing other stories lately, including one about Harry being the enemy. So far, even though Neville and I have been acting up, our families haven't been doing too much to anger them. Though, I do think it's only a matter of time."

I thought about Potterwatch and I quickly put my hand up to bring this up. Surely, if Ginny's family was behind it, she'd know about it as well.

"I was going to bring that up at the end of the meeting," she assured me. "But thanks for bringing it up, Barry. There are people who are willing to broadcast everything they're finding out on the wireless called Potterwatch. The people who are running it felt it was too risky to let me know even by the coins, but I don't see the harm in letting you all know now. You can even listen to it in the Common Rooms, as more people probably found out about it over the holidays. They might start doing the same. Just don't tell anyone the connection, just tell them that you found out about it over the holidays. I think it's something every single person should have the right to listen to, so Potterwatch doesn't need to be kept secret. It's not on every day, and never at the same time. They do it when they can, and they leave a password for the next one. It usually has to do with The Order or Dumbledore."

"There's also something else," a girl who I didn't know said as she raised her hand. "My family used to use You-Know-Who's real name, though they haven't spoken it lately thankfully. Anyway, dad told me that the name is now taboo. If anyone says the name, it breaks all magical enchantments and they can find you. So you should stop doing it if you do it, and you should tell as many people as you can."

"Yes, I meant to bring that up as well," Ginny said with a nod over at her. "Thank you for bringing it up, Lila."

Brenda surprised me when she stood up suddenly and said: "It's how Kendra was murdered," she said in a steady voice as she gazed around at everyone. "Her family used to use the name all the time, and they were on the run when it happened. They were found before Christmas, and they'd all been dead for months. And I also think-" she continued in a louder voice as people began to whisper, "-that we should all have a moment of silence for Kendra and her family, and everyone else who has fallen. We should be honouring all the dead, as well as fighting at all of these meetings."

She said this directly to Ginny and Neville who both nodded simultaneously. Several of the fifth years were looking over at her, and whispering behind their hands. She didn't seem to notice, and if she did, she hid it well. She just took a seat again and stared down at the ground.

"I think that's a great idea, Brenda," Neville told her. "And we'll do that at the end of each meeting. We do need to remember everyone who has been fighting for us, and anyone who has been found dead, including muggles."

"It's the advice they give on Potterwatch as well," Ginny agreed. "We're going to start dividing everyone up as Death Eaters and Hogwarts students in a moment, but we need to finish swearing in our new members as there are a lot more than usual, and then we'll start."

"Have you found out anything else new?" Terry Boot asked.

"Not yet, but we'll talk more at the end of the meeting," Ginny said as one of the Slytherin students put up their hands. "We promise, we'll let you tell everyone what you do know," she added to the boy. "For now, we want to give all of you a chance to fight as we want a long battle tonight, and we'd like to make sure everyone is back before their curfew."

While they were swearing in the new members, Nick and I went over to the three Slytherin students to welcome them. All three still looked terrified, particularly the only girl. The two boys stared at us wearily as we approached them. They were a lot shorter than us, and I figured they were either third or fourth years. Nick and I both held our hands out to welcome them and introduce ourselves, both boys hesitated before taking our hands and introducing themselves as well.

"We don't agree with any of those blood purist views," the boy named Jimmy told me. "I was scared when I was first sorted into Slytherin, but I've always just kept my head down."

"Me too," the boy named Gan told me. "I'm just very ambitious, and I'm top of our year, we're fourth years," he added.

The girl introduced herself as Maryam in a very small voice as she stared at the ground. She didn't say anything else, and I figured she must have been very shy.

"All of her dormmates, even her best friend have stopped talking to her," Gan told me. "We've been looking out for her. Some have been more brutal with her than us. She should know how to fight, and all three of us will fight if there is a battle here. We want to help get rid of You-Know-Who as much as the rest of you."

All three (including Maryam) stared up at us all looking very determined.

"Well, we're all glad to have you, and if anyone gives any of you a hard time, let us know," Nick told them.

I told them they could come to me as well. I suddenly felt as protection for Maryam as the boys were. I couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, she had the darkest brown eyes I'd ever seen, naturally long eyelashes, and her dark skin appeared to be very flawless. Girls were the last thing on my lately, but I still noticed the really cute ones, and she was gorgeous.

Others seemed to take our example as they all came over to start introducing themselves to the Slytherins as well. As they did this, Nick grabbed my arm and dragged me over to Alistar. I didn't even have to ask why. He looked up at us in surprise when we approached him. The two of us introduced ourselves, though he already knew our names, as he was in our classes.

"I'm sorry we didn't talk to you before-" I began.

"But I haven't been here the last five and a half years," he interrupted. "I get it, and it's why I didn't talk to you either. My parents kept me home because they heard about some teacher trying to steal a Philosopher's Stone, and he died from it. They didn't want me to come, especially with all the mad stuff that keeps going on, but we also couldn't go into hiding. At least not yet, but mom and dad work in the Ministry and they want to work for as long as possible."

"It's the only reason we're still here," Nick told him. "Mom and dad even debated sending me back, but they don't see the need in it yet."

"We probably will after this year," I admitted. "We're here just so that Brenda can do her OWLs."

"But what about you? If the war ends, do you think you'd come back here?" Nick asked as Neville suddenly blew a whistle to let us know we were going to start. "Hogwarts has always been fun, despite some of the mad stuff. We've had a lot of good times here."

"I'd like to. I've always wanted to," Alistar admitted while Neville and Ginny began dividing people up. "We'll see what happens, but if the war isn't over by the end of our seventh year, it won't matter will it? I dunno why you lot seem to think it will all be done soon. I think we're in for years of this. I hope we're not, but You-Know-Who seems unbeatable, and no one has heard from Potter in months."

"We think that too," I said. "But we're still holding onto that hope."

He seemed as if he were a nice bloke I decided as I was named a Death Eater. It was a shame he hadn't come when we all started. Maybe he would have ended up as a friend, but maybe he still could be.

Ginny was a Death Eater with the rest of us, and she wanted all of us to work in groups if we could, and to disguise our voices. I planned to do it this time since last time, both Gretchen and Phillip had recognized me. I still wasn't too fond of being a Death Eater, but there wasn't much I could do about it, and it was also the best way to learn strategy.

As we were all disguised, I didn't even know who was in my group of four. We stood together discussing how we'd be able to sneak up on any Hogwarts students, and what we could use besides spells to defend ourselves. We decided two of us would wait in secret passages that were near each other to ambush anyone if we could.

Inside the maze, we began looking for any secret passages that were near each other, but we had our battles to fight just from the maze itself. It was worse than the last time we'd been in here. We didn't move very far before we were attacked by two statues, and painting fell on one person's head.

Whoever it was cursed and we did our best to fight to get out of it. I knew we were making a lot of noise, and I wondered how long it would take before we drew attention to ourselves. Thankfully, we finally got past the statues, but it wasn't long before a few stones shot out in front of us, nearly taking me out.

"Damn, I get we need to be prepared, but will this really happen in a real battle?" Someone asked as another stone shot out.

"I think it's to test our reflexes as well," someone else said.

It was bizarre not knowing who anyone was under the cloaks. All of us had voice disguiser spells on us, and we'd all done it so well, that no one could even tell what gender each of us were. I had no clue if I was talking to Nick, or my sisters, or anyone I may even dislike. At the moment, we had to work together just because we were on the same team.

Thankfully, we did find the perfect secret passages to hide out in as they were pretty much across from each other in a dead-end corridor. One was hidden by a tapestry, and another was in a hidden corridor. My partner and I took the hidden corridor. We were hoping that some Hogwarts students would come down this way, and we'd be able to corner them.

It wasn't long before we had to wait. We could hear some whispering voices not too far from us. I waited until the moment they passed before peaking out to see if they were Death Eaters or Hogwarts students.

One of them was just checking the Tapestry as I looked out. I saw that it was six Hogwarts students. Four of them were checking the end of the passageway together, likely to see if there was a hidden corridor in there, while the other two were looking over the tapestry. Before any of them noticed me, I sent the boil hex at the tallest one. My partner jumped out as well to help.

The six students immediately began fighting us, and I just missed a stunner as one shot one at me. The other two Death Eaters stepped out from behind the tapestry to join us in the battle. The Hogwarts students had an advantage over us as there were six of us, but the people I was fighting with were good fighters. All of us were able to keep up, despite being outnumbered.

I'd been practicing conjuring ropes since my seventeenth birthday (though I still wasn't doing too well, as it was above my level) and as we pushed the six students into the dead end, I decided to try this now. I was surprised that not only was I able to finally do it, I was also able to conjure a long enough one to wrap them. One of my partners, seeing what I was doing began helping as they tried to fight it. The other two began disarming our opponents. It felt like we'd been fighting for a long time, but I didn't even think it was for five minutes.

Moments later, all six students were tied up in the rope. One of the Death Eaters was murmuring spells at the rope, though I wasn't sure what they were doing. The rope lit up, but I didn't see it do anything else.

"What are you doing?" One of the other Death Eaters finally asked.

"It should be unbreakable now," they responded. "At least, for now, it's only temporary," he added to the Hogwarts students all protested. "And I can take it off. Good idea, whoever you are. I never thought of conjuring a rope. You must be a seventh year too."

I decided not to confirm nor disagree with this. We all walked off, leaving the Hogwarts students who shouted after us that we were bunch of gits, and that this wasn't even real.

"It will be!" I called over my shoulder as we left.

I hadn't expected it to go that well, and I wondered if we'd be lucky for the rest of the battle. Unfortunately, the longer we were in there fighting, the more tired we grew as we kept running into obstacles the maze provided, as well as Hogwarts students who were really good fighters. I found myself eventually trapped behind a large painting a couple of Hogwarts students threw at me, and I was separated by my group as they continued fighting.

I still had my wand, so I had to fight to move the portrait, but I didn't know how they even managed to barricade me in. It took a good long while, and many times, Hogwarts students would appear to shoot random jinxes and hexes at me, and I had to fight them. Finally, someone sent a stunner at me, and everything went black.

I woke up later on with someone kneeling over me. I saw that it was a Hogwarts student. My mask had come off at some point, so the person knew who I was. They pulled of their mask, and I saw a grinning Phillip.

"Guess it's me saving your ass this time," he said laughing. "The battle is over. It has been for ten minutes. We're just getting everyone out now."

"I wonder how long I've been out," I said sitting up. "They trapped me behind this painting, and eventually I got stunned."

"I know," Phillip said, helping me to stand up. "I'm the one who trapped you here. Dad showed it to me over the holidays. It's like a sticky shield charm, but not really. It just makes it so you can't get out. You don't need an object every time, but I don't know how to do it without an object. It's possible to make an invisible barrier that makes it hard for you to get out, but it's easier to use things to strengthen it. I'll teach it to you later, and the counter curse as well."

"Does your dad know that you're doing this?" I asked him while we made our way through the corridors. There were now red arrows on the walls showing us the way out.

"He doesn't know about the DA but I think both mum and dad know suspect I'm in it," Phillip said with a shrug. "I told them I'm not going to sit back and a be a good boy while the Carrows and other Death Eaters take over the school. They didn't ask any questions, but dad did teach me some defensive spells. We were worried the Ministry might notice, but they didn't send anyone."

"Mum and dad say that in Wizarding homes, they know a spell was cast, but not who cast it," I told him.

"That's what dad said too, but we still worried anyway," Phillip told me. "But dad also wants me to be prepared, and he's willing to risk that if I can be."

We found an exit ahead and quickly went through it, to find that we were close to the front of the maze. Most people were either washing up, or sitting around and talking. Philip and I walked over to where the rest of the sixth year Ravenclaw's, including Alistar, where they were all comparing stories about their time in the maze.

Philip and I both told them what had happened to me, and then I told them what happened before getting trapped behind the painting.

"It was me you tied up you know," Gretchen told me. "You tied up Brianne as well. She's the one who told you that you're gits."

"Guess she's not as ready for a real battle after all then," Nick said.

"Neither am I," I said.

"You put up a good fight behind that portrait," Philip told me. "You had three of us attacking you when you couldn't move, and you dodged every spell anyway. You managed to hit one of them with that slug curse."

Nick started to laugh. "That was the kid Brianne was kind of dating last year. He' went off back to his dormitory to hide out until it wears off."

I laughed at the irony of it, even if I'd left the two of them alone. I hadn't even minded the bloke that much. He'd always been respectful with her.

Neville blew a whistle and everyone stopped talking to look over at him.

"We let that go on a bit longer than we meant to, so we don't have time to practice any dark curses, but we'll save that for the next meeting," Neville said. "I just wanted to thank all of you. This was the best we've done so far. It felt like a real battle this time. None of you showed anyone any mercy, and we'd like you to keep fighting at every mock the way you did today. We'll open the floor, so that you can tell us how it went."

Just like the last time, everyone had interesting stories to tell. Brenda had managed to trap a few Death Eaters in one of the secret passages. She'd used a door to block them, and then used a temporary sticky charm to hold it there. I thought that was the most creative way so far, and it was one I was going to remember.

I told them the story of trapping the Hogwarts students in the dead-end passageway, and how I'd tied them up with a rope, which someone else helped me out with.

"That was me," Terry Boot called out to me. "You're welcome, Barry!"

"And it was me who made it unbreakable," Ernie Macmillan responded. "But how did you learn how to conjure a rope? We're just learning how to do that."

"I've been practising since the holidays," I answered. "I turned seventeen in December, so I decided to practice what I could for new defensive techniques as well as spells. I just thought a rope was obvious. I didn't know you lot were learning it."

"We just started," Padma Patil told me. "And it's hard. You'll have to help us with that."

There were a few more stories from others before Neville called Gan up to the front of the room.

"You told us you have some information so share. Could you tell us now what it is?" Neville asked him.

"Snape is bringing back the Inquisitorial Squad," Gan announced. "It's why we thought we should join now more than ever. Most people know the DA is active because of your antics last term, and they all assume that Slytherin's aren't involved. There was a new notice on the notice board on the first day of term. It is only open to Slytherin's, and they have more power than prefects, just as they did last time, but they are also allowed to use hexes and jinxes against us for punishment as well."

There was a lot of indignant shouting at this, and I was one of them. They couldn't be serious! The Inquisitorial Squad abused their powers last time, but this was ten times worse! They'd be able to hex or jinx little first years as well as older students. It wasn't right. Neville blew his whistle and there was silence again.

"We fight back, and we defend any student they attack," Ginny told us. "Do not use any of the dark magic we've learned so far, as we all know that's only as a last resort if we have a real battle. Use any legal curses we've learned. We can use this as a way to prepare ourselves. Is there an age limit for the Inquisitorial Squad, Gan?"

He shook his head. "No, it's open to first-years and older. First to fourth years are junior members just like last time. They can't take away any points, but they can put us in detention and hex us for punishment. Fifth years and older can take points away as well."

"I dunno about anyone else, but I want Umbridge's regime back," a fifth-year boy said which caused some people to laugh, but most were too angry.

"Most Slytherin's don't want it," Gan said. "So please don't take it out on all Slytherin's. We aren't the only ones who want to be part of it and expect to have more asking to join. Even a lot the blood purist students don't it to go that far. So far, it's only been the older students who have signed up. A couple of the girls in Maryam's dorm has signed up."

Jimmy suddenly stood up as well and made his way to the front of the room as well.

"I'd also like to add that most of the first and second years are terrified in our house," he said. "Even some of the ones who were loudmouths at the beginning are quiet and scared. So if you could just leave the younger kids out of this, please do."

"We only attack if they attack first," Neville told him. "The DA isn't about attacking random people. They have Death Eater's for that. This is a rebellious group who is also preparing for the war. We don't know when Harry will kill You-Know-Who, it could be ten years from now. We want the DA to keep going to prepare everyone for the outside world as well as what is happening here. We'll make sure the first and second years are protected. None of us want to hurt the younger kids."

"But you might want to tell the first and second year Slytherin's not to attack us first either," a small dark-haired girl called out. "I'm in the second year, and I have second years from Slytherin attacking us all the time. I don't care if they're doing it 'cause they're scared. They have to stop too then. They start it most of the time."

"I'll see what I can do to pass the message along without being obvious," Jimmy told her. "I know a lot of kids from our house aren't innocent. Not all the people in the other three houses are innocent either though. They randomly attack Slytherin's as well. We all need to stop attacking each other, and we need to work together, just like the Sorting Hat has been saying for the last three years. It shouldn't just be a DA thing, everyone should be following that rule."

"We'll try to pass it along discreetly as well," Ginny assured him. "That's what we're trying to do, but it's not easy, especially when you can't trust your own dormmates. We know you guys have it worse than us, but we can't trust everyone either. We can't even trust everyone in this room. The only reason we do is because we're bound to secrecy, but we all know that some people could be spies in here as well as our own houses."

"Do you any of you know why they're letting us do this?" Parvati Patil asked. "We find it really suspicious that no one is ever guarding this room."

"If Snape or the Carrow's share that information with anyone, we have no idea who," Gan said. "They don't exactly come in the Common Room to tell us things like that. The Slytherin Common Room is full of secrecy. Most people are too scared to talk about anything that anyone might overhear. Contrary to what you guys might think, no one announces Death Eater plans in there, and the three of us aren't exactly trusted anyway. We've let them know since our first year that we don't share those views, and we're not cowardly enough to back down on our beliefs. And our fellow fourth-years should be able to vouch for us."

"It's true," a blond Gryffindor girl spoke up. "They've always been decent, and I'm sorry we ignore you three, but you're right. We have no idea who to trust. We should have known better about Maryam. We should all be looking out for her, because she is a sweetheart, and she's very shy too."

"It hasn't been easy for her at all," Gan said. "The girls have always been catty, but they were at least nice to her. Every single one of them, even her best friend have turned against her."

I glanced over at Maryam, who seemed determined not to look at anyone. She continued to stare down at the ground. The Gryffindor girl got up and then walked over to sit beside Maryam. She put an arm around her.

"I'll protect her, we all will," she told her. "We won't let any of them hurt you anymore if they have been."

I did wonder how well we could protect her though. The Slytherin boys couldn't get into her dormitory and none of us could get into the Slytherin Common Room.

"Right, from now on, I want all three of you to wear disillusionment charms when you come up here, but especially Maryam," Neville said. "If it's that bad for the three of you, we don't want any more attention drawn on you. We also don't think any of you should be recruiting anyone from your House. If they want to join, they can come to us themselves."

"Next time we put up Graffiti, we should mention that all Houses are welcome," Lavender Brown called out. "I know we run into the risk of spies, but they can't tell on us without us finding out, and there could be more scared Slytherin's who need protection. If more of you know you're on the same side, more of you can protect each other."

Neville and Ginny decided this was a good idea, and we decided we'd put Graffiti around the castle but this time in the middle of the night. They began asking for volunteers for this, I put my hand up as I'd enjoyed it last time, and I wanted to be involved again. Not just for Luna, but for any scared Slytherin who wanted to join as well. In my bias, I hadn't even considered them. I was sure a lot of the people in the room were feeling bad about this.

The meeting was dismissed shortly after, though Ginny and Neville called out that they were looking for representatives for Ravenclaw and Slytherin to report any news they couldn't put on the coins to any DA members.

"Preferably Sixth or Seventh Years," Neville called out, "but we'll consider everyone."

"I'll represent Slytherin," Gan told him.

I seriously considered signing up to be the Ravenclaw rep, but I had a feeling they wanted one of their seventh-year friends. I'd seen Neville eyeing both Michael Corner and Padma Patil as he talked. I figured they'd want a former DA member, but I also realized I didn't want that responsibility. I liked helping the DA, but I didn't want to be a leader.

* * *

A/N: I know in Death Hallows, it said that they had crests for all the Houses except Slytherin. However, I've always believed that all the people hiding out were seventh Years, and none of them were Slytherin hiding out. By the time Harry goes back to Hogwarts, the DA had stopped being as active because they were too scared to let people keep pulling the pranks they were pulling. By that point, all the people in the Room of Requirement were hiding out from the Carrow's and the Death Eaters, and they were living in there.

I've wanted to include Slytherin's for a while, and so any Slytherin who joins will be underage and will obviously not be hiding in the Room of Requirement when Harry shows up. I'm part of a Harry Potter roleplay, and at the moment, we're working on doing a roleplay for the year right after the Battle of Hogwarts. There is a lot of discussion about whether or not Slytherin's helped fight, and if they were part of the DA, and we all agree they likely did help. We just didn't see it in the books or movies, and so I've decided to include Slytherin's helping out in this story as well. I try to stay as accurate to the books as I can, but I'm always felt there was some injustice to the Slytherins in the books. I just wanted to add this bit in case anyone pointed out that no Slytherin was involved. We don't know exactly what happened at Hogwarts while Harry was away. Slytherins could have temporarily been involved.


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